transposable elements

Transposable element silencing as a regulator of salivary gland immune homeostasis

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Sjogren’s syndrome (SjS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder marked by salivary and lacrimal gland dysfunction, lymphocytic infiltration, and progressive secretory decline. While traditionally viewed as immune cell–driven, emerging evidence suggests that epithelial cells may initiate local inflammation. However, the molecular triggers originating from epithelial cells remain poorly defined. Transposable elements (TEs), including endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and LINEs, are normally repressed through DNA methylation, histone modifications, and heterochromatin organization. Failure of TE silencing mechanisms due to aging, hormonal changes, or stress results in cytoplasmic dsRNA accumulation, nucleic acid sensor activation, and type I interferon signaling. These TE-derived nucleic acids are increasingly recognized as endogenous triggers of immunological stress that disrupt cellular homeostasis. Our preliminary data show widespread TE derepression and upregulation of interferon-stimulated genes in salivary glands from patients with SjS. To mimic this phenomenon, we will inducibly delete Setdb1, a key histone H3K9 methyltransferase, in defined epithelial compartments of the salivary gland. This will allow us to model compartment-specific TE derepression and assess its impact on both innate immune activation and adaptive immune responses. We will also test how aging and estrogen deficiency disrupt TE repression in basal/ductal versus acinar cells using lineage tracing and epigenomic profiling. Finally, we will evaluate the therapeutic potential of reverse transcriptase inhibitors and chromatin-modifying drugs in attenuating TE-driven inflammation. This exploratory study will uncover how failure of TE silencing contributes to epithelial-driven autoimmunity in SjS and will provide a foundation for future targeted epigenetic manipulations in human tissues and patients.

Transposable element activation in Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies

Transposable elements, known colloquially as ‘jumping genes’, constitute approximately 45% of the human genome. Cells utilize epigenetic defenses to limit transposable element jumping, including formation of silencing heterochromatin and generation of piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), small RNAs that facilitate clearance of transposable element transcripts. We have utilized fruit flies, mice and postmortem human brain samples to identify transposable element dysregulation as a key mediator of neuronal death in tauopathies, a group of neurodegenerative disorders that are pathologically characterized by deposits of tau protein in the brain. Mechanistically, we find that heterochromatin decondensation and reduction of piwi and piRNAs drive transposable element dysregulation in tauopathy. We further report a significant increase in transcripts of the endogenous retrovirus class of transposable elements in human Alzheimer’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, suggesting that transposable element dysregulation is conserved in human tauopathy. Taken together, our data identify heterochromatin decondensation, piwi and piRNA depletion and consequent transposable element dysregulation as a pharmacologically targetable, mechanistic driver of neurodegeneration in tauopathy.

Investigating Transposable Elements as cause of neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease