Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Analysis of LINE-1 Retrotransposition at the Single Nucleus Level
Published on: April 23, 2016
Cellular inhibitors of long interspersed element 1 and Alu retrotransposition
Hal P Bogerd1, Heather L Wiegand, Amy E Hulme
1Center for Virology and Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
Abstract:
Long interspersed element (LINE) 1 retrotransposons are major genomic parasites that represent approximately 17% of the human genome. The LINE-1 ORF2 protein is also responsible for the mobility of Alu elements, which constitute a further approximately 11% of genomic DNA. Representative members of each element class remain mobile, and deleterious retrotransposition events can induce spontaneous genetic diseases. Here, we demonstrate that APOBEC3A and APOBEC3B, two members of the APOBEC3 family of human innate antiretroviral resistance factors, can enter the nucleus, where LINE-1 and Alu reverse transcription occurs, and specifically inhibit both LINE-1 and Alu retrotransposition. These data suggest that the APOBEC3 protein family may have evolved, at least in part, to defend the integrity of the human genome against endogenous retrotransposons.
Related Concept Videos
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
LTR Retrotransposons
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Retroviruses
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis

