title: L1 Retrotransposition in Neural Progenitor Cells.
abstract: Long interspersed nucleotide element 1 (LINE-1 or L1) is a family of non-LTR retrotransposons that can replicate and reintegrate into the host genome. L1s have considerably influenced mammalian genome evolution by retrotransposing during germ cell development or early embryogenesis, leading to massive genome expansion. For many years, L1 retrotransposons were viewed as a selfish DNA parasite that had no contribution in somatic cells. Historically, L1s were thought to only retrotranspose during gametogenesis and in neoplastic processes, but recent studies have shown that L1s are extremely active in the mouse, rat, and human neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs). These de novo L1 insertions can impact neuronal transcriptional expression, creating unique transcriptomes of individual neurons, possibly contributing to the uniqueness of the individual cognition and mental disorders in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Stem Cell Program, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, Pediatrics/Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, Sanford Consortium 2880 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive: room 3005, MC, 0695, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA. muotri@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Alysson R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Muotri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006801:Humans; D020084:Long Interspersed Nucleotide Elements; D051379:Mice; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D051381:Rats
keywords: Brain; L1; LINE-1; Neural progenitor cells; Neural stem cells; Retrotransposition; Somatic mosaicism