New preprint from the Frost lab!

Please check out our new preprint! Starting with transcriptomic analyses, we find that age- and tau-induced transposable element activation occurs in the mouse brain. Among transposable elements that are activated at the RNA level in the context of brain aging and tauopathy, we find that the endogenous retrovirus (ERV) class of retrotransposons is particularly enriched. We show that protein encoded by Intracisternal A-particle, a highly active mouse ERV, is elevated in brains of tau transgenic mice. We further demonstrate that brains of tau transgenic mice have increased DNA copy number of transposable elements, suggesting that retrotransposon RNAs are actively reverse transcribed in the context of tauopathy.