Insights into LINE-1 reverse transcription guide therapy development

Subsets of long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1) retrotransposons can ‘retrotranspose’ throughout the human genome at a cost to host cell fitness, as observed in some cancers. Pharmacological inhibition of LINE-1 retrotransposition requires a comprehensive understanding of the LINE-1 ORF2p reverse transcriptase. Two recent publications, by Thawani et al. and Baldwin et al., report structures of LINE-1 ORF2p and address long-standing mechanistic gaps regarding LINE-1 retrotransposition. Both studies will be critical to design new specific inhibitors of the LINE-1 ORF2p reverse transcriptase.