TITLE:
Cytoplasmic L1 Levels in Cancer
AUTHORS:
Eleana Hatzidaki, Panagiotis Apostolou, Ioannis Papasotiriou
KEYWORDS:
L1, Cancer, Retrotransposition, FISH, Cytoplasmic
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.13 No.6,
June
28,
2022
ABSTRACT: In addition to shaping genome diversification over evolutionary time, L1
retrotransposition alters gene expression as well. The most notable gene
altering process involves insertional mutagenesis. The aim of the study was the
examination of both nuclear L1 expression levels and cellular localization in
cancer cell lines, PBMCs from healthy volunteers and PBMCs from cancer
patients. L1 was detected by FISH in chromosome preparations. L1 probe was
custom-made using end-point PCR against L1-ORF2 and conjugated with FITC. It
was found that cancer cell lines and clinical samples from cancer patients
contained significantly elevated levels of L1 per nucleus compared to healthy
volunteers. Cytoplasmic L1 was also increased in the above mentioned samples
denoting that cancer could be associated with increased L1 activation and
mobility. Our results may provide a novel cancer diagnostic marker and
highlight the possibility of cytoplasmic L1 inhibition as a therapeutic
intervention for cancer.