Transposable elements (TEs) are thought to have helped establish gene regulatory networks. Both the embryonic and extraembryonic lineages of the early mouse embryo have seemingly co-opted TEs as enhancers, but there is little evidence that they play significant roles in gene regulation. Here we tested a set of long terminal repeat TE families for roles as enhancers in mouse embryonic and trophoblast stem cells. Epigenomic and transcriptomic data suggested that a large number of TEs helped to establish tissue-specific gene expression programmes. Genetic editing of individual TEs confirmed a subset of these regulatory relationships. However, a wider survey via CRISPR interference of RLTR13D6 elements in embryonic stem cells revealed that only a minority play significant roles in gene regulation. Our results suggest that a subset of TEs are important for gene regulation in early mouse development, and highlight the importance of functional experiments when evaluating gene regulatory roles of TEs.

Ageing is the gradual decline in organismal fitness that occurs over time leading to tissue dysfunction and disease. At the cellular level, ageing is associated with reduced function, altered gene expression and a perturbed epigenome. Somatic cell reprogramming, the process of converting somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), can reverse these age-associated changes. However, during iPSC reprogramming, somatic cell identity is lost, and can be difficult to reacquire as re-differentiated iPSCs often resemble foetal rather than mature adult cells. Recent work has demonstrated that the epigenome is already rejuvenated by the maturation phase of reprogramming, which suggests full iPSC reprogramming is not required to reverse ageing of somatic cells. Here we have developed the first 'maturation phase transient reprogramming' (MPTR) method, where reprogramming factors are expressed until this rejuvenation point followed by withdrawal of their induction. Using dermal fibroblasts from middle age donors, we found that cells temporarily lose and then reacquire their fibroblast identity during MPTR, possibly as a result of epigenetic memory at enhancers and/or persistent expression of some fibroblast genes. Excitingly, our method substantially rejuvenated multiple cellular attributes including the transcriptome, which was rejuvenated by around 30 years as measured by a novel transcriptome clock. The epigenome, including H3K9me3 histone methylation levels and the DNA methylation ageing clock, was rejuvenated to a similar extent. The magnitude of rejuvenation instigated by MTPR appears substantially greater than that achieved in previous transient reprogramming protocols. In addition, MPTR fibroblasts produced youthful levels of collagen proteins, and showed partial functional rejuvenation of their migration speed. Finally, our work suggests that more extensive reprogramming does not necessarily result in greater rejuvenation but instead that optimal time windows exist for rejuvenating the transcriptome and the epigenome. Overall, we demonstrate that it is possible to separate rejuvenation from complete pluripotency reprogramming, which should facilitate the discovery of novel anti-ageing genes and therapies.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterised by a series of genetic and epigenetic alterations that result in deregulation of transcriptional networks. One understudied source of transcriptional regulators are transposable elements (TEs), whose aberrant usage could contribute to oncogenic transcriptional circuits. However, the regulatory influence of TEs and their links to AML pathogenesis remain unexplored. Here we identify six endogenous retrovirus (ERV) families with AML-associated enhancer chromatin signatures that are enriched in binding of key regulators of hematopoiesis and AML pathogenesis. Using both locus-specific genetic editing and simultaneous epigenetic silencing of multiple ERVs, we demonstrate that ERV deregulation directly alters the expression of adjacent genes in AML. Strikingly, deletion or epigenetic silencing of an ERV-derived enhancer suppresses cell growth by inducing apoptosis in leukemia cell lines. This work reveals that ERVs are a previously unappreciated source of AML enhancers that may be exploited by cancer cells to help drive tumour heterogeneity and evolution.

BackgroundTen-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes oxidise DNA methylation as part of an active demethylation pathway. Despite extensive research into the role of TETs in genome regulation, little is known about their effect on transposable elements (TEs), which make up nearly half of the mouse and human genomes. Epigenetic mechanisms controlling TEs have the potential to affect their mobility and to drive the co-adoption of TEs for the benefit of the host.ResultsWe performed a detailed investigation of the role of TET enzymes in the regulation of TEs in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). We find that TET1 and TET2 bind multiple TE classes that harbour a variety of epigenetic signatures indicative of different functional roles. TETs co-bind with pluripotency factors to enhancer-like TEs that interact with highly expressed genes in ESCs whose expression is partly maintained by TET2-mediated DNA demethylation. TETs and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) are also strongly enriched at the 5′ UTR of full-length, evolutionarily young LINE-1 elements, a pattern that is conserved in human ESCs. TETs drive LINE-1 demethylation, but surprisingly, LINE-1s are kept repressed through additional TET-dependent activities. We find that the SIN3A co-repressive complex binds to LINE-1s, ensuring their repression in a TET1-dependent manner.ConclusionsOur data implicate TET enzymes in the evolutionary dynamics of TEs, both in the context of exaptation processes and of retrotransposition control. The dual role of TET action on LINE-1s may reflect the evolutionary battle between TEs and the host.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-016-1096-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.