Ku limits aberrant mRNA splicing promoted by intronic antisense Alu elements.

ABSTRACT: Alu elements are short repeats that occupy approximately 10% of the human genome ^1,2. Saturation of primate genomes with Alu sequences occurred at the prosimian/new-world monkey evolutionary juncture. Alu elements have clearly driven unique aspects of higher primate evolution, but their presence can be detrimental to genomic stability ³. The expansion of Alu sequences in the genomes of higher primates precisely coincides with a substantial increase in the ubiquitous expression of the three polypeptides of the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), the Ku70/80 heterodimer and DNA-PKcs ⁴. Previous work suggests that the elevated levels of Ku70/80 are required to prevent the activation of innate immune signaling pathways triggered by RNA molecules derived from

SUBMITTER: Pascarella G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12667784 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature