| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 分子生物研究所 === 103 === Repetitive sequence accounts for almost half of the human genome, and most of them are composed of transposable elements (TEs). Although the biological function of TEs is not well defined, recent researches suggest that the specific role of TEs can be either beneficial or detrimental under different biological circumstances. While TEs are silenced in most somatic cells, accumulating data report active TEs were observed in cancer cells and brain neuronal cells. And active somatic transposition of TEs is hypothesized to be one of the mechanisms responsible for the neuronal heterogeneity. Because human individuals with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) exhibit a range of cognitive and/or behavioral problems, we speculate whether alcohol could affect brain development by altering the activity of TEs. We focus on the long interspersed elements 1 (LINE1), the most abundant TE in the human genome. Using a rat FAS animal model, we quantified the expression of the two LINE1 genes, ORF1 and ORF2, in different brain regions by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and conventional gel-based RT-PCR. We also investigated the overall chromatin susceptibility in liver tissue by DNase I assay. The results show that the postnatal alcohol treatment in early life has a long term effect on brain morphology and overall chromatin structure in liver tissue.
(Keyword: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Transposable Elements)
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