Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer
08:34

Utilizing Murine Inducible Telomerase Alleles in the Studies of Tissue Degeneration/Regeneration and Cancer

Published on: April 13, 2015

10.4K

Endogenous retroelements as alarms for disruptions to cellular homeostasis

Håvard T Lindholm1, Raymond Chen2, Daniel D De Carvalho2

  • 1Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Trends in Cancer
|October 10, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Endogenous retroelements, mobile DNA sequences, can trigger anti-cancer immune responses when their repression is disrupted. This suggests potential therapeutic strategies by activating these cellular alarms against cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Genetics
  • Immunology
  • Cancer Biology

Background:

  • Endogenous retroelements are mobile DNA sequences within genomes.
  • Their activity is typically repressed to prevent genomic instability.
  • Dysregulation of cellular processes can lead to endogenous retroelement activation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of endogenous retroelements in activating innate immune responses.
  • To propose the 'fire alarm hypothesis' regarding endogenous retroelements.
  • To discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting endogenous retroelement repression in cancer.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on endogenous retroelements and innate immunity.
  • Analysis of cellular processes leading to antiviral state activation.
  • Discussion of endogenous retroelement properties relevant to alarm functions.

Main Results:

  • Expressed endogenous retroelements can activate innate immune receptors.
  • Activation of the antiviral response can lead to cancer cell death.
  • Endogenous retroelements may function as cellular 'alarms' for genomic stress.

Conclusions:

  • Disrupting the repression of endogenous retroelements may offer a novel cancer treatment strategy.
  • The 'fire alarm hypothesis' posits endogenous retroelements signal cellular disruptions.
  • Understanding endogenous retroelement properties is key to their therapeutic exploitation.
Keywords:
IFN pathwaycancerendogenous retroelementsepigeneticsviral mimicry

More Related Videos

Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters10:38

Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters

Published on: September 27, 2012

22.5K
RNA Next-Generation Sequencing and a Bioinformatics Pipeline to Identify Expressed LINE-1s at the Locus-Specific Level11:04

RNA Next-Generation Sequencing and a Bioinformatics Pipeline to Identify Expressed LINE-1s at the Locus-Specific Level

Published on: May 19, 2019

10.0K

Related Concept Videos

Non-LTR Retrotransposons03:18

Non-LTR Retrotransposons

As the name suggests, non-LTR retrotransposons lack the long terminal repeats characteristic of the LTR retrotransposons. Additionally, both LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons use distinct mechanisms of mobilization. Non-LTR retrotransposons are further divided into two classes - Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), both of which occur abundantly in most mammals, including humans. Some of the active non-LTR retrotransposons in humans are L1...
11.7K
LTR Retrotransposons03:08

LTR Retrotransposons

LTR retrotransposons are class I transposable elements with long terminal repeats flanking an internal coding region. These elements are less abundant in mammals compared to other class I transposable elements. About 8 percent of human genomic DNA comprises LTR retrotransposons. Some of the common examples of LTR retrotransposons are Ty elements in yeast and Copia elements in Drosophila.
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
17.8K
Retroviruses02:33

Retroviruses

Retroviruses and retrotransposons both insert copies of their genetic elements into the genome of the host cell. Thus, the viral genes are passed on when the host genome is replicated or translated. A typical retroviral DNA sequence contains 3-4 genes that encode the different proteins required for its structural assembly and function as a molecular parasite. This DNA is transcribed into a single mRNA, which is very similar in structure to conventional mRNAs, i.e., it is capped at the 5’...
12.6K
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
4.1K
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers01:51

Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers

Retroviruses are RNA viruses that have been shown to cause cancers in diverse species, including chickens, mice, cats, and monkeys. The RNA genomes of these viruses are first reverse-transcribed into single and then double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) copies. This dsDNA called proviral DNA then integrates into the host genome. Subsequently, the host cell transcribes the proviral DNA in concert with the chromosomal DNA. This leads to the production of viral RNA and proteins that assemble at the host...
5.2K
Negative Regulator Molecules01:23

Negative Regulator Molecules

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
35.6K