Retrotransposons Manipulating Mammalian Skeletal Development in Chondrocytes
Retrotransposons are genetic elements that copy and paste themselves in the host genome through transcription, reverse-transcription, and integration processes. Along with their proliferation in the genome, retrotransposons inevitably modify host genes around the integration sites, and occasionally...
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Published in | International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 21; no. 5; p. 1564 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Switzerland
MDPI
25.02.2020
MDPI AG |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Retrotransposons are genetic elements that copy and paste themselves in the host genome through transcription, reverse-transcription, and integration processes. Along with their proliferation in the genome, retrotransposons inevitably modify host genes around the integration sites, and occasionally create novel genes. Even now, a number of retrotransposons are still actively editing our genomes. As such, their profound role in the evolution of mammalian genomes is obvious; thus, their contribution to mammalian skeletal evolution and development is also unquestionable. In mammals, most of the skeletal parts are formed and grown through a process entitled endochondral ossification, in which chondrocytes play central roles. In this review, current knowledge on the evolutional, physiological, and pathological roles of retrotransposons in mammalian chondrocyte differentiation and cartilage development is summarized. The possible biological impact of these mobile genetic elements in the future is also discussed. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 1422-0067 1422-0067 |
DOI: | 10.3390/ijms21051564 |