How gene expression is controlled to preserve human T cell quiescence is poorly understood. Here we show that non-canonical splicing variants containing long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE1) enforce naive CD4 T cell quiescence. LINE1-containing transcripts are derived from CD4 T cell-specific genes upregulated during T cell activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransposable elements (TEs), which cover ~45% of the human genome, although firstly considered as "selfish" DNA, are nowadays recognized as driving forces in eukaryotic genome evolution. This capability resides in generating a plethora of sophisticated RNA regulatory networks that influence the cell type specific transcriptome in health and disease. Indeed, TEs are transcribed and their RNAs mediate multi-layered transcriptional regulatory functions in cellular identity establishment, but also in the regulation of cellular plasticity and adaptability to environmental cues, as occurs in the immune response.
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