Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Epigenetic modifier drugs trigger widespread transcription of endogenous retroviruses

Nature Genetics volume 49, pages 974–975 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

A study in this issue demonstrates that epigenome-modifying drugs used in cancer chemotherapy induce transcription from thousands of previously unannotated transcription start sites, most of which are derived from ancient endogenous retroviruses (ERVs). This work, coupled with previous related findings, suggests that induction of ERVs, rather than direct effects on specific genes, may have a central role in the cellular responses to such agents and, in turn, their therapeutic efficacy.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Possible effects of LTR activation.

Debbie Maizels/Springer Nature

References

  1. Ahuja, N., Sharma, A.R. & Baylin, S.B. Annu. Rev. Med. 67, 73–89 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Ball, B., Zeidan, A., Gore, S.D. & Prebet, T. Leuk. Lymphoma 58, 1022–1036 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Moarii, M., Boeva, V., Vert, J.-P. & Reyal, F. BMC Genomics 16, 873 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sproul, D. & Meehan, R.R. Brief. Funct. Genomics 12, 174–190 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Brocks, D. et al. Nat. Genet. 49, 1052–1060 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Li, H. et al. Oncotarget 5, 587–598 (2014).

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Lavie, L., Kitova, M., Maldener, E., Meese, E. & Mayer, J. J. Virol. 79, 876–883 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Lorincz, M.C. et al. Mol. Cell. Biol. 20, 842–850 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Krönung, S.K. et al. Oncotarget 7, 33484–33497 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Thompson, P.J., Macfarlan, T.S. & Lorincz, M.C. Mol. Cell 62, 766–776 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Babaian, A. & Mager, D.L. Mobile DNA 7, 24 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Chiappinelli, K.B., Zahnow, C.A., Ahuja, N. & Baylin, S.B. Cancer Res. 76, 1683–1689 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Chiappinelli, K.B. et al. Cell 162, 974–986 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Roulois, D. et al. Cell 162, 961–973 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Xu, L. et al. J. Virol. 87, 25–36 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Dixie L Mager & Matthew C Lorincz

  2. Terry Fox Laboratory, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Dixie L Mager

Authors
  1. Dixie L Mager
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matthew C Lorincz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Dixie L Mager or Matthew C Lorincz.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mager, D., Lorincz, M. Epigenetic modifier drugs trigger widespread transcription of endogenous retroviruses. Nat Genet 49, 974–975 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3902

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.3902

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing