title: Nuclear function of Alus.
abstract: Alus are transposable elements belonging to the short interspersed element family. They occupy over 10% of human genome and have been spreading through genomes over the past 65 million years. In the past, they were considered junk DNA with little function that took up genome volumes. Today, Alus and other transposable elements emerge to be key players in cellular function, including genomic activities, gene expression regulations, and evolution. Here we summarize the current understanding of Alu function in genome and gene expression regulation in human cell nuclei.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology; Northwestern University; Feinberg School of Medicine; Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology; Northwestern University; Feinberg School of Medicine; Chicago, IL USA.
authors.forename: Sui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D020087:Alu Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements
keywords: alus; evolution; gene expression regulation; genome function; transposable elements