AI Article Synopsis
- - The review discusses retrogenes, which are additional gene copies created when processed mRNA is converted back into DNA and integrated into the genome, emphasizing their significance in evolutionary biology and cancer research.
- - Contrary to earlier beliefs, these retroposition-derived genes can be functional and are considered crucial for both species evolution and the development of neoplastic tumors, indicating their role in cancer progression.
- - The expression of retrogenes is linked to various cancer subtypes and their treatment responses, with many cancer-related retrogenes originating from primates, highlighting their importance in human cancer development.
Article Abstract
This review summarizes the knowledge about retrogenes in the context of cancer and evolution. The retroposition, in which the processed mRNA from parental genes undergoes reverse transcription and the resulting cDNA is integrated back into the genome, results in additional copies of existing genes. Despite the initial misconception, retroposition-derived copies can become functional, and due to their role in the molecular evolution of genomes, they have been named the "seeds of evolution". It is convincing that retrogenes, as important elements involved in the evolution of species, also take part in the evolution of neoplastic tumors at the cell and species levels. The occurrence of specific "resistance mechanisms" to neoplastic transformation in some species has been noted. This phenomenon has been related to additional gene copies, including retrogenes. In addition, the role of retrogenes in the evolution of tumors has been described. Retrogene expression correlates with the occurrence of specific cancer subtypes, their stages, and their response to therapy. Phylogenetic insights into retrogenes show that most cancer-related retrocopies arose in the lineage of primates, and the number of identified cancer-related retrogenes demonstrates that these duplicates are quite important players in human carcinogenesis.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7835786 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/life11010072 | DOI Listing |
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