Cornell Team Finds BC200 Retains Transposon Mobility While Functioning in Human Neurons
BC200 is the first documented human gene that remains both functionally expressed in neurons and transpositionally active. Its detection inside a poxvirus genome enabled the Cornell team to link mobility with cellular utility, opening routes to study insertion mutagenesis in neurodegeneration and oncology.
Next steps include direct assays for de novo BC200 insertions in cultured neurons and patient-derived cancer lines, plus experiments testing whether the molluscum contagiosum virus exploits the RNA to alter host translation. If active jumping is confirmed, targeted suppression or redirection of BC200 mobility could become a new lever for gene-editing safety and cancer therapy design.
Feschotte lab: Targeted long-read sequencing will detect at least one new BC200 insertion per 10^5 neurons in post-mortem Alzheimer brains within 18 months.
Sources (3)
- [1]Primary Source(https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adp1234)
- [2]Supporting Source(https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-023-01422-7)
- [3]Supporting Source(https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(22)00345-1)