Human-specific endogenous retroviral insert serves as an enhancer for the schizophrenia-linked gene PRODH.
Using a systematic, whole-genome analysis of enhancer activity of human-specific endogenous retroviral inserts (hsERVs), we identified an element, hsERVPRODH, that acts as a tissue-specific enhancer for the PRODH gene, which is required for proper CNS functioning. PRODH is one of the candidate genes for susceptibility to schizophrenia and other neurological disorders. It codes for a proline dehydrogenase enzyme, which catalyses the first step of proline catabolism and most likely is involved in neuromediator synthesis in the CNS. We investigated the mechanisms that regulate hsERVPRODH enhancer activity. We showed that the hsERVPRODH enhancer and the internal CpG island of PRODH synergistically activate its promoter. The enhancer activity of hsERVPRODH is regulated by methylation, and in an undermethylated state it can up-regulate PRODH expression in the hippocampus. The mechanism of hsERVPRODH enhancer activity involves the binding of the transcription factor SOX2, whch is preferentially expressed in hippocampus. We propose that the interaction of hsERVPRODH and PRODH may have contributed to human CNS evolution.
Group for Genomic Regulation of Cell Signaling Systems, Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Moscow 117997, Russia.
Maria
M
Suntsova
Elena V
EV
Gogvadze
Sergey
S
Salozhin
Nurshat
N
Gaifullin
Fedor
F
Eroshkin
Sergey E
SE
Dmitriev
Natalia
N
Martynova
Kirill
K
Kulikov
Galina
G
Malakhova
Gulnur
G
Tukhbatova
Alexey P
AP
Bolshakov
Dmitry
D
Ghilarov
Andrew
A
Garazha
Alexander
A
Aliper
Charles R
CR
Cantor
Yuri
Y
Solokhin
Sergey
S
Roumiantsev
Pavel
P
Balaban
Alex
A
Zhavoronkov
Anton
A
Buzdin
D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019175:DNA Methylation; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D024202:Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008156:Luciferases; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011394:Proline Oxidase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D017931:DNA Primers; C527782:SOX2 protein, human; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D008156:Luciferases; D011394:Proline Oxidase; C582834:PRODH protein, human
DNA methylation; central nervous system; human speciation; human-specific endogenous retrovirus; retroelement