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Transposable elements and psychiatric disorders
Author(s) -
Guffanti Guia,
Gaudi Simona,
Fallon James H.,
Sobell Janet,
Potkin Steven G.,
Pato Carlos,
Macciardi Fabio
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of medical genetics part b: neuropsychiatric genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.393
H-Index - 126
eISSN - 1552-485X
pISSN - 1552-4841
DOI - 10.1002/ajmg.b.32225
Subject(s) - transposable element , human genome , genome , neurofibromatosis , human genetics , biology , identification (biology) , disease , neuroscience , computational biology , genetics , medicine , gene , botany , pathology
Transposable Elements (TEs) or transposons are low‐complexity elements (e.g., LINEs, SINEs, SVAs, and HERVs) that make up to two‐thirds of the human genome. There is mounting evidence that TEs play an essential role in genomic architecture and regulation related to both normal function and disease states. Recently, the identification of active TEs in several different human brain regions suggests that TEs play a role in normal brain development and adult physiology and quite possibly in psychiatric disorders. TEs have been implicated in hemophilia, neurofibromatosis, and cancer. With the advent of next‐generation whole‐genome sequencing approaches, our understanding of the relationship between TEs and psychiatric disorders will greatly improve. We will review the biology of TEs and early evidence for TE involvement in psychiatric disorders. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.