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Human Alu element retrotransposition induced by genotoxic stress

Nature Genetics volume 35, pages 219–220 (2003)Cite this article

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 01 December 2003

Abstract

Alu elements are found exclusively in primate species and comprise over 10% of the human genome. To better define the mechanisms responsible for Alu replication, we introduced a human Alu element into mouse cells. We report that Alu retrotransposition can be induced in mouse cells by exposure to the topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide and is mediated in trans by endogenous mouse long interspersed elements (LINEs).

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Figure 1: Etoposide exposure is associated with Alu transcription and retrotransposition.
Figure 2: Insertion-site characteristics of retrotransposed Alu elements identified by inverse PCR.

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Acknowledgements

The Alu clone used in construction of pREP4 was a generous gift of P. Deininger. This work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the US National Institutes of Health and from the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological Sciences Division, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Christy R Hagan, Rebecca F Sheffield & Charles M Rudin

  2. Committee on Cancer Biology University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Christy R Hagan & Charles M Rudin

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Charles M Rudin

Authors
  1. Christy R Hagan
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  2. Rebecca F Sheffield
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  3. Charles M Rudin
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Correspondence to Charles M Rudin.

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Hagan, C., Sheffield, R. & Rudin, C. Human Alu element retrotransposition induced by genotoxic stress. Nat Genet 35, 219–220 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1259

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