Analysis on the transcriptomic changes by LINE-1 overexpression with CRISPRa in NIH3T3 cells

We report the transcriptomic changes caused by activation of a class of endogenous retroelements long interspersed nuclear elements-1 (LINE-1) by CRISPR activation module. Using lentiviruses, we generated dCas9-CRISPR activator-stably expressing NIH3T3 cells and transfected the sgRNA plasmid targeting the promoter sequence of evolutionally young LINE-1 family (Tf family). RNA was extracted from those cells, sequenced, and analyzed for transcriptome of both cellular genes as well as retroelements expression. The results showed significant upregulation of anti-viral genes and interferon stimulated genes as well as many genes related to cellular homeostasis. This is the first detailed transcriptomic analysis of gene expression perturbation in the cells in which LINE-1 is directly targeted via its promoter and upregulated. Overall design: Analysis on the RNA expression profile 48-hours after the transfection of scramble (Scr) or LINE1-targeting (L1) sgRNA plasmids to the dCas9-CRISPR activator stably expressing NIH3T3 cells.