Billions of years ago, as primitive lifeforms were becoming more complex, a selfish genetic component became a sort of genome colonizer. Using a copy-and-paste mechanism, this pernicious bit of code replicated and inserted itself again and again into a variety of genomes.
Over time, all eukaryotic organisms inherited the code—including us. In fact, this ancient genetic element wrote about one-third of the human genome—and was considered junk DNA until relatively recently.
This genetic component is known as LINE-1, and its aggressive intrusion into the genome can wreak havoc, leading to disease-causing mutations. A key protein called ORF2p enables its success—meaning understanding ORF2p’s structure and mechanics could illuminate new potential therapeutic targets for a variety of diseases.
Now, in collaboration with more than a dozen academic and industry groups, Rockefeller scientists have rendered the protein’s core structure in high resolution for the first time, revealing a host of new insights about LINE-1’s key disease-causing mechanisms. The results were published in Nature.
“The work will facilitate rational drug design targeting LINE-1 and may lead to novel therapies and strategies to combat cancer, autoimmune disease, neurodegeneration, and other diseases of aging,” says senior author John LaCava, a research associate professor at The Rockefeller University.
You can read more in an article in the medicalxpress web site at: http://tinyurl.com/2hypfdf3.