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Endogenous Retrovirus-Derived lncRNA BANCR Promotes Cardiomyocyte Migration in Humans and Non-human Primates.
Kitchener D Wilson1, Mohamed Ameen2, Hongchao Guo3
1Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Developmental Cell
|August 9, 2020
Summary
Newly evolved transposable elements (TEs) like BANCR are crucial for heart development. These elements, found in primate-specific endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), regulate cardiomyocyte functions and can be studied using stem cell models.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Developmental Biology
- Cardiovascular Science
Background:
- Transposable elements (TEs) constitute a significant portion of the human genome, with largely unknown functions in development.
- Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), a subclass of TEs, pose research challenges due to their primate- or human-specific nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of primate-specific ERVs in heart development.
- To identify novel regulatory elements derived from TEs involved in cardiogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized primate pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes to model fetal cardiomyocytes in vitro.
- Employed transcriptomic analysis to identify ERV expression.
- Conducted functional studies in vitro and in vivo to assess the role of identified elements.
Main Results:
- Discovered hundreds of ERV transcripts from the primate-specific MER41 family.
- Identified the long non-coding RNA BANCR, containing MER41 elements, as exclusively expressed in primate fetal cardiomyocytes.
- Demonstrated that BANCR promotes cardiomyocyte migration in vitro and ventricular enlargement in vivo, regulated by TBX5.
Conclusions:
- Recently evolved TEs, such as BANCR, can function as de novo developmental regulatory elements.
- Primate-specific ERVs play a significant role in primate heart development.
- Species-matching pluripotent stem cell models are effective for studying novel TE functions in development.
Keywords:
cardiomyocyteendogenous retrovirusesevolutionheart developmentinduced pluripotent stem cellslncRNAsmigrationprimatetransposable elementsMore Related Videos
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