title: Transposable elements and psychiatric disorders.
abstract: Transposable Elements (TEs) or transposons are low-complexity elements (e.g., LINEs, SINEs, SVAs, and HERVs) that make up to two-thirds of the human genome. There is mounting evidence that TEs play an essential role in genomic architecture and regulation related to both normal function and disease states. Recently, the identification of active TEs in several different human brain regions suggests that TEs play a role in normal brain development and adult physiology and quite possibly in psychiatric disorders. TEs have been implicated in hemophilia, neurofibromatosis, and cancer. With the advent of next-generation whole-genome sequencing approaches, our understanding of the relationship between TEs and psychiatric disorders will greatly improve. We will review the biology of TEs and early evidence for TE involvement in psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Guia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guffanti
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaudi
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Fallon
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sobell
authors.forename: Steven G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Potkin
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pato
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Macciardi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements
keywords: long interspersed element 1; psychiatric disorders; regulatory elements; retrotransposition; transposable elements