Environmental Influence on L1 Retrotransposons in the Adult Hippocampus

By Alysson Renato Muotri, Chunmei Zhao, M. Marchetto, Fred H. Gage. 2009

184 citations recorded by the source corpus.

It is well established that neuronal circuits can be shaped by experience. Neuronal plasticity can be achieved by synaptic competitive interactions and the addition of new neuronal units in neurogenic regions of the adult brain. Recent data have suggested that neuronal progenitor cells can accommodate somatic LINE‐1 (Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements‐1 or L1) retrotransposition. Genomic L1 insertions may up‐ or down‐regulate transcriptional control of gene expression. Here, we show that exercise has a positive effect on a L1‐EGFP reporter in vivo. We found that neurons from mice that experience voluntary exercise are more likely to activate an EGFP reporter marker, representing L1 insertions in the brain, when compared with sedentary animals. In the hippocampus, a neurogenic region of the adult brain, EGFP expression is mainly found in cells localized in the subgranular layer of the dentate gyrus. This observation implies that neuronal progenitor cells may support de novo retrotransposition upon exposure to a new environment. Such evidence suggests that experience‐dependent L1 retrotransposition may contribute to the physiological consequences of neuronal plasticity. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Subfields: Genetics, Molecular Biology, Plant Science

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Genetics

1. James Bradley Aimone
2. Fred H. Gage
3. Wei Deng
4. Hongjun Song
5. Guo-li Ming
6. Sebastian Jessberger

In Molecular Biology

1. James Bradley Aimone
2. Wei Deng
3. Fred H. Gage
4. Hongjun Song

Citations in the corpus

• New neurons and new memories: how does adult hippocampal neurogenesis affect learning and memory? (2010, background): “Moreover, voluntary running for about 3 weeks following BrdU birth-dating enhances the survival of BrdU-labelled adult-born DGC”
• Transposition Driven Genomic Heterogeneity in the Drosophila Brain: A Dissertation (2012, unknown): “It is also important to note that the frequency of transposition was significantly different between different regions of the brain and individuals, and 59 the overall frequency in the brain was also higher when compared to the frequency of transposition in heart and liver (Muotri et al., 2009).”
• Wnt-mediated activation of NeuroD1 and retro-elements during adult neurogenesis (2009, unknown): “Consistent with these data, we recently observed that voluntary exercise increased LINE-1 retrotransposition in dentate gyru”