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Radiation-induced retroelement-mediated genomic instability

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Abstract

Ionizing radiation induces numerous biological events in mammalian cells, including cell death, mutagenesis, and genomic instability via changes in genomic structure, epigenetic regulation, and gene expression. Retroelements can also alter genomic structure based on their ability to mobilize, and their abundance and sequence similarity have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human diseases. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on the mobilization, genomic rearrangement, epigenetic state, and transcriptional activation of retroelements in response to radiation. We further discuss the potential effects of their activation in radiation-induced genomic instability.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Korea

    Ja-Rang Lee & Heui-Soo Kim

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Lee, JR., Kim, HS. Radiation-induced retroelement-mediated genomic instability. Biotechnol Bioproc E 17, 439–445 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-012-0008-3

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