Bridging the Gap Between Environmental Adversity and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: The Role of Transposable Elements

Holly DeRosa; Troy Richter; Cooper Wilkinson; Richard G Hunter

doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.813510

Bridging the Gap Between Environmental Adversity and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: The Role of Transposable Elements

Front Genet. 2022 May 25:13:813510. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.813510. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Holly DeRosa¹, Troy Richter¹, Cooper Wilkinson¹, Richard G Hunter¹

Affiliation

¹ Psychology Department, Developmental Brain Sciences Program, College of Liberal Arts, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, United States.

Abstract

Long regarded as "junk DNA," transposable elements (TEs) have recently garnered much attention for their role in promoting genetic diversity and plasticity. While many processes involved in mammalian development require TE activity, deleterious TE insertions are a hallmark of several psychiatric disorders. Moreover, stressful events including exposure to gestational infection and trauma, are major risk factors for developing psychiatric illnesses. Here, we will provide evidence demonstrating the intersection of stressful events, atypical TE expression, and their epigenetic regulation, which may explain how neuropsychiatric phenotypes manifest. In this way, TEs may be the "bridge" between environmental perturbations and psychopathology.

Keywords: PTSD - posttraumatic stress disorder; autism (ASD); early life stress; epigenetics; glucocorticoids; mood disorder; retrotransposon; schizophrenia.

Publication types

Review