Phenomena and Processes

Alu Elements

The Alu sequence family (named for the restriction endonuclease cleavage enzyme Alu I) is the most highly repeated interspersed repeat element in humans (over a million copies). It is derived from the 7SL RNA component of the SIGNAL RECOGNITION PARTICLE and contains an RNA polymerase III promoter. Transposition of this element into coding and regulatory regions of genes is responsible for many heritable diseases.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

The Alu sequence family (named for the restriction endonuclease cleavage enzyme Alu I) is the most highly repeated interspersed repeat element in humans (over a million copies). It is derived from the 7SL RNA component of the SIGNAL RECOGNITION PARTICLE and contains an RNA polymerase III promoter. Transposition of this element into coding and regulatory regions of genes is responsible for many heritable diseases.

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Synonyms

14 entry terms
  • Alu Family
  • Alu Repetitive Sequences
  • Alu Element
  • Alu Families
  • Alu Repetitive Sequence
  • Element, Alu
  • Elements, Alu
  • Families, Alu
  • Family, Alu
  • Repetitive Sequence, Alu
  • Repetitive Sequences, Alu
  • Sequence, Alu Repetitive
  • Sequences, Alu Repetitive
  • Alu-Like Repetitive Sequence

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Aspects Covered

6 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings drug effects, ethics, genetics, immunology, physiology, radiation effects.

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History Note

1999; use REPETITIVE SEQUENCES, NUCLEIC ACID 1988-1998; for ALU REPETITIVE SEQUENCE, ALU FAMILY, and ALU-LIKE REPETITIVE SEQUENCE use REPETITIVE SEQUENCES, NUCLEIC ACID 1988-1998

MeSH Record

Previous Indexing

  • Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid (1981-1998)

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References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Alu Elements. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D020087. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D020087
  2. Alu Elements. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alu_element
  3. Alu Elements. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q412199