title: Novel trends in genetics: transposable elements and their application in medicine.
abstract: Forty-five percent of the human genome is composed of Transposable Elements (TEs); therefore, TEs have had an undisputed impact on evolution of the most evolved creature by a very simple mechanism of action.  Scientists have been studying this simple mechanism of action and are currently using it to develop efficient and safe gene delivery systems especially for treatment of diseases. TEs have also been used safely in generating induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) for regenerative medicine, which opens the door to a world of possibilities in our approach in trying to wrestle with many challenges in medicine. The PiggyBac (PB) system has yielded more success in generation of induced pluripotent stem cells in regenerative medicine, and the Sleeping Beauty (SB) has been more successful in Gene Therapy. Recent advances are indicative of more good news to come regarding the potential heights of successes achievable by the use of the TE-based systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.tabrizi@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vand Rajabpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raoofian
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Laleh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Habibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Akrami
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tabrizi
mesh_terms: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D057026:Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019895:Transposases / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C569369:PGBD1 protein, human; D019895:Transposases; C494471:sleeping beauty transposase, human