New research has uncovered new insights into the ‘dark genome’ with a focus on LINE-1, a genetic element associated with various diseases. A team of scientists from around the world has provided structural details of LINE-1 and its reverse transcriptase, potentially paving the way for disease treatment. This study reveals similarities between LINE-1 and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and could lead to targeted drug development. Understanding the mechanisms of LINE-1 is crucial for developing potential new treatments for conditions such as cancer, autoimmune diseases, neurodegeneration, and aging. The research, announced in Nature, sheds light on the largely unknown ‘dark genome’ and reports on the high-resolution images and structural details of LINE-1. The study was led by a team of researchers from institutions in the United States and Europe and involved biotechnology partners. University of Alberta virologist Matthias Goette led a multidisciplinary team that contributed to the study and emphasized the importance of understanding the structure and function of LINE-1 for human disease. The research effort included collaboration with structural biologists and focused on identifying similarities and differences between LINE-1 reverse transcriptase and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, with the aim of developing drugs specific to the LINE-1 enzyme. The project was sponsored by ROME Therapeutics, and Goette credits his research assistant Egor Chesnokov for the significant contributions to the study.
Source: scitechdaily.com
