Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40983656›Full record

ArticleMolecular systems biology2025

Hominoid-specific transposable elements reshaped neural crest migration in craniofacial development.

Laura Deelen, Zoe H Mitchell, Martina Demurtas, Andria Koulle, Beatriz Garcia Del Valle, Marco Trizzino

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular systems biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Laura DeelenDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-2295-2554
Zoe H MitchellDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-4315-8720
Martina DemurtasDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
Andria KoulleDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
Beatriz Garcia Del ValleDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.
Marco TrizzinoDepartment of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK. m.trizzino@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1383-7200

Funding

UKRI | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) BB/Y000854/1Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Craniofacial development is evolutionarily conserved, yet subtle changes in its regulatory network drive species-specific traits. Transposable elements (TEs) contribute to genome evolution, but their role in cranial neural crest cells (CNCCs) remains unclear. Here, we investigate the domestication of hominoid-specific TEs (LTR5Hs and SVAs) as enhancers during human CNCC specification, a process critical for vertebrate craniofacial development. Using human iPSC-derived CNCCs, we identified ~515 hominoid-specific TEs functioning as enhancers, including ~250 human-specific, predominantly LTR5Hs. These elements are enriched for CNCC coordinator motifs, are bound by the CNCC signature factor TWIST1, and their enhancer activity appears largely CNCC-specific. CRISPR-interference targeting ~75% of these active TEs led to widespread transcriptional dysregulation of genes involved in neural crest migration, and two orthogonal functional assays confirmed that CNCC migration is impaired upon TE repression. Finally, genes near human-specific TEs showed higher expression in human CNCCs compared to chimpanzee CNCCs, but TE repression restored gene expression to chimpanzee levels. These findings highlight how young TEs were domesticated to fine-tune CNCC regulatory networks, potentially contributing to lineage-specific craniofacial evolution.

Indexed as

DNA Transposable ElementsHominidaeNeural CrestSkullAnimalsCell MovementEnhancer Elements, GeneticGene Expression Regulation, DevelopmentalHumansInduced Pluripotent Stem CellsPan troglodytesTwist-Related Protein 1DNA Transposable ElementsTwist-Related Protein 1Cell MigrationCoordinator MotifCranial Neural CrestLTR5HsSVAs

Identifiers

PMID40983656
PMCPMC12673149

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.