Mammalian-wide interspersed repeat (MIR)-derived enhancers and the regulation of human gene expression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mammalian-wide interspersed repeats (MIRs) are the most ancient family of transposable elements (TEs) in the human genome. The deep conservation of MIRs initially suggested the possibility that they had been exapted to play functional roles for their host genomes. MIRs also happen to be the only TEs whose presence in-and-around human genes is positively correlated to tissue-specific gene expression. Similar associations of enhancer prevalence within genes and tissue-specific expression, along with MIRs' previous implication as providing regulatory sequences, suggested a possible link between MIRs and enhancers.

Results

To test the possibility that MIRs contribute functional enhancers to the human genome, we evaluated the relationship between MIRs and human tissue-

SUBMITTER: Jjingo D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4090950 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature