Somatic retrotransposition in the developing rhesus macaque brain.

The retrotransposon LINE-1 (L1) is central to the recent evolutionary history of the human genome and continues to drive genetic diversity and germline pathogenesis. However, the spatiotemporal extent and biological significance of somatic L1 activity are poorly defined and are virtually unexplored in other primates. From a single L1 lineage active at the divergence of apes and Old World monkeys, successive L1 subfamilies have emerged in each descendant primate germline. As revealed by case studies, the presently active human L1 subfamily can also mobilize during embryonic and brain development in vivo. It is unknown whether nonhuman primate L1s can similarly generate somatic insertions in the brain. Here we applied approximately 40× single-cell whole-genome sequencing (scWGS), as well as retrotransposon capture sequencing (RC-seq), to 20 hippocampal neurons from two rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). In one animal, we detected and PCR-validated a somatic L1 insertion that generated target site duplications, carried a short 5' transduction, and was present in ∼7% of hippocampal neurons but absent from cerebellum and nonbrain tissues. The corresponding donor L1 allele was exceptionally mobile in vitro and was embedded in PRDM4, a gene expressed throughout development and in neural stem cells. Nanopore long-read methylome and RNA-seq transcriptome analyses indicated young retrotransposon subfamily activation in the early embryo, followed by repression in adult tissues. These data highlight endogenous macaque L1 retrotransposition potential, provide prototypical evidence of L1-mediated somatic mosaicism in a nonhuman primate, and allude to L1 mobility in the brain over the past 30 million years of human evolution.

L1 retrotransposition is a common feature of mammalian hepatocarcinogenesis.

The retrotransposon Long Interspersed Element 1 (LINE-1 or L1) is a continuing source of germline and somatic mutagenesis in mammals. Deregulated L1 activity is a hallmark of cancer, and L1 mutagenesis has been described in numerous human malignancies. We previously employed retrotransposon capture sequencing (RC-seq) to analyze hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) samples from patients infected with hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus and identified L1 variants responsible for activating oncogenic pathways. Here, we have applied RC-seq and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to an Abcb4 (Mdr2)-/- mouse model of hepatic carcinogenesis and demonstrated for the first time that L1 mobilization occurs in murine tumors. In 12 HCC nodules obtained from 10 animals, we validated four somatic L1 insertions by PCR and capillary sequencing, including TF subfamily elements, and one GF subfamily example. One of the TF insertions carried a 3' transduction, allowing us to identify its donor L1 and to demonstrate that this full-length TF element retained retrotransposition capacity in cultured cancer cells. Using RC-seq, we also identified eight tumor-specific L1 insertions from 25 HCC patients with a history of alcohol abuse. Finally, we used RC-seq and WGS to identify three tumor-specific L1 insertions among 10 intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) patients, including one insertion traced to a donor L1 on Chromosome 22 known to be highly active in other cancers. This study reveals L1 mobilization as a common feature of hepatocarcinogenesis in mammals, demonstrating that the phenomenon is not restricted to human viral HCC etiologies and is encountered in murine liver tumors.

L1 Retrotransposon Heterogeneity in Ovarian Tumor Cell Evolution.

LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are a source of insertional mutagenesis in tumor cells. However, the clinical significance of L1 mobilization during tumorigenesis remains unclear. Here, we applied retrotransposon capture sequencing (RC-seq) to multiple single-cell clones isolated from five ovarian cancer cell lines and HeLa cells and detected endogenous L1 retrotransposition in vitro. We then applied RC-seq to ovarian tumor and matched blood samples from 19 patients and identified 88 tumor-specific L1 insertions. In one tumor, an intronic de novo L1 insertion supplied a novel cis-enhancer to the putative chemoresistance gene STC1. Notably, the tumor subclone carrying the STC1 L1 mutation increased in prevalence after chemotherapy, further increasing STC1 expression. We also identified hypomethylated donor L1s responsible for new L1 insertions in tumors and cultivated cancer cells. These congruent in vitro and in vivo results highlight L1 insertional mutagenesis as a common component of ovarian tumorigenesis and cancer genome heterogeneity.

Evidence for L1-associated DNA rearrangements and negligible L1 retrotransposition in glioblastoma multiforme.

BACKGROUND: LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are a notable endogenous source of mutagenesis in mammals. Notably, cancer cells can support unusual L1 retrotransposition and L1-associated sequence rearrangement mechanisms following DNA damage. Recent reports suggest that L1 is mobile in epithelial tumours and neural cells but, paradoxically, not in brain cancers. RESULTS: Here, using retrotransposon capture sequencing (RC-seq), we surveyed L1 mutations in 14 tumours classified as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) or as a lower grade glioma. In four GBM tumours, we characterised one probable endonuclease-independent L1 insertion, two L1-associated rearrangements and one likely Alu-Alu recombination event adjacent to an L1. These mutations included PCR validated intronic events in MeCP2 and EGFR. Despite sequencing L1 integration sites at up to 250× depth by RC-seq, we found no tumour-specific, endonuclease-dependent L1 insertions. Whole genome sequencing analysis of the tumours carrying the MeCP2 and EGFR L1 mutations also revealed no endonuclease-dependent L1 insertions. In a complementary in vitro assay, wild-type and endonuclease mutant L1 reporter constructs each mobilised very inefficiently in four cultured GBM cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: These experiments altogether highlight the consistent absence of canonical L1 retrotransposition in GBM tumours and cultured cell lines, as well as atypical L1-associated sequence rearrangements following DNA damage in vivo.

Phospholipase Cß3 mediates LH-induced granulosa cell differentiation.

Previous studies showed that under certain conditions LH can stimulate not only adenylate cyclase (AC) but also phospholipase Cß (PLCß) signaling in target cells; however, the physiological involvement of PLCß in LH-induced ovarian follicular cell differentiation has not been determined. To address this, ex vivo expression analyses and specific PLCß targeting were performed in primary bovine granulosa cells. Expression analyses in cells from small (2.0-5.9 mm), medium (6.0-9.9 mm), and ovulatory-size (10.0-13.9 mm) follicles revealed an increase in mRNA and protein levels of heterotrimeric G protein subunits-αs, -αq, -α11, and -αi2 in ovulatory-size follicles, simultaneous with a substantial increase in LH receptor expression. Among the four known PLCß isoforms, PLCß3 (PLCB3) was specifically up-regulated in cells from ovulatory-size follicles, in association with a predominantly cytoplasmic location of PLCB3 in these cells and a significant inositol phosphate response to LH stimulation. Furthermore, RNA interference-mediated PLCB3 down-regulation reduced the ability of LH to induce hallmark differentiation responses of granulosa cells, namely transcriptional up-regulation of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 and down-regulation of both aromatase expression and estradiol production. Responses to the AC agonist, forskolin, however, were not affected. In addition, PLCB3 down-regulation did not alter cAMP responses to LH in granulosa cells, ruling out a primary involvement of AC in mediating the effects of PLCB3. In summary, we provide evidence of a physiological involvement of PLCß signaling in ovulatory-size follicles and specifically identify PLCB3 as a mediator of LH-induced differentiation responses of granulosa cells.