What are transposable elements?

How do they contribute to neurodegeneration?

Transposable elements, or TEs, are viral-like sequences within our genome that have (or once had) the capacity to mobilize from one location to another. While most TEs are relatively inactive, some of them have the capacity to alter cellular function, cause new mutations, or trigger inflammatory signals. There is mounting evidence implicating TE activity in the aging brain and in several neurodegenerative diseases, most prominently ALS & FTD. 

Our lab is trying to figure out how TEs contribute to neurodegeneration by developing new genomics assays, new computational tools, and new iPSC based models of TE function. By combining these molecular genomics models with the power of systems-level, high-throughput data analysis of patient-derived ALS and FTD tissue samples, the lab aims to better understand how TEs contribute to the development and/or progression of neurodegenerative disease.