Biologically Active Substance
alu element
ALU el·e·ment
Subclass of:
Short Interspersed Nucleotide Elements
Definitions related to alu elements:
  • A family of short interspersed nuclear elements found in the human genome that are substrates for the Arthrobacter luteus restriction endonuclease. Alu elements are highly conserved within primate genomes and have been used in the investigation of human population genetics, primate and human evolution, and human diseases, including cancer.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • 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.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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