Program > Browse abstracts by author > Vermeirssen Vanessa

Transposable elements (TEs) have emerged as crucial regulatory elements, contributing to the rewiring of gene regulatory networks. Increasing attention is given to the role of TEs in the human brain, as it is the somatic organ with the most TE activity. Moreover, the underlying regulatory programs of human brain development are still not elucidated and the role of TEs herein is understudied. TEs exert a locus- and cell-type-specific function, but this is challenging to study because of their repetitive nature and the sparsity of single-cell sequencing data. In the past, most studies in this field focused on one brain developmental time point, one TE (sub)family, and one (bulk) omics layer at a time. This study aims to characterize TE-mediated gene regulation during human brain development at the single-cell level. Using TE-centric bioinformatics tools, we re-analyzed two time points (24 gestational weeks and three months postnatally) of a human post-mortem brain development dataset of single-cell RNA sequencing and ATAC sequencing. We discovered both expressed and chromatin-accessible TEs of different TE families, including LINEs, SINEs, LTRs, SVAs, and DNA transposons at these time points. Moreover, by doing differential expression and accessibility analysis, we found cell-type- and developmental stage-specific TEs. Finally, genes in the vicinity of these TEs were differentially expressed. Hence, we hypothesize that some of these TEs function as enhancers. In conclusion, we identified putative TE enhancers and transcripts, indicating a potential role in human brain development, which needs further experimental validation. Future research will focus on the regulatory dynamics of TE involvement across human brain development.