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Fig. 8 | Molecular Autism

Fig. 8

From: Integrated genome-wide Alu methylation and transcriptome profiling analyses reveal novel epigenetic regulatory networks associated with autism spectrum disorder

Fig. 8

Schematic diagram illustrating a possible mechanism of Alu elements in ASD. Our model suggests that exposure to environmental factors or dysregulation of other DNA methylation regulatory mechanisms lead to changes in CpG methylation patterns in Alu elements. Such changes alter transcription factor binding and, possibly in combination with other Alu regulatory mechanisms, cause the dysregulation of the expression and retrotransposition of Alu elements. Disrupted Alu retrotransposition results in changes in target genes via cis-/trans-regulatory mechanisms, which, in turn, dysregulate gene expression and gene regulatory networks known to be negatively impacted in ASD

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Molecular Autism

ISSN: 2040-2392