Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab) profile picture

Johan Jakobsson

@JakobssonLab

Director at Lund Stem Cell Center, Professor of Neuroscience at Lund Univ, Stem cells, Epigenetics, microRNA, Reprogramming, Transposons, ERVs, LINE-1

 Lund, Sverige
Joined August 2017
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Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)Photo by Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab)
New preprint from our lab: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
Endogenous retrovirus activation disrupts postsynaptic organization in human glutamatergic neurons

Endogenous retrovirus activation disrupts postsynaptic organization in human glutamatergic neurons

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) comprise a substantial fraction of the human genome, yet whether their expression can directly alter human neuronal function remains unknown. Because glutamatergic...

biorxiv.org
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New paper from our lab: science.org/doi/10.1126/scia…

Retroviral insertions contributed to the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains

Over the past 5 to 7 million years, humans and chimpanzees have diverged in brain size, structure, and cognition despite high conservation of protein-coding genes. However, retroviral infections...

science.org
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New paper from our lab! Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell type–specific interferon response in Parkinson’s disease | Science Advances science.org/doi/10.1126/scia…
Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell type–specific interferon...

Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell type–specific interferon...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder involving a neuroinflammatory response, the cause of which remains unclear. Transposable elements (TEs) have been linked to inflammation, but...

science.org
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New paper from my lab out in NAR. We found that young L1 elements are controlled by SETDB1 and H3K9me3 in human neural progenitor cells via a mechanism independent of HUSH and TRIM28/KZNFs. academic.oup.com/nar/article…
Loss of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 in human neural progenitor cells leads to transcriptional activat...

Loss of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 in human neural progenitor cells leads to transcriptional activat...

Abstract. Heterochromatin is characterized by an inaccessibility to the transcriptional machinery and is associated with the histone mark H3K9me3. However,

academic.oup.com
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thetransmitter.org/evolution…
Viral DNA in chimps silences brain gene humans still use

Viral DNA in chimps silences brain gene humans still use

The retroviral insert appears to inadvertently switch off a gene involved in brain development.

thetransmitter.org
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Johan Jakobsson (@JakobssonLab) profile picture
Johan Jakobsson@JakobssonLab14 Dec 2025
New preprint from our lab: ‘Retroviral insertions contributed to  the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains’. Very proud of this piece which took almost a decade to finish. biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
Retroviral insertions contributed to the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains

Retroviral insertions contributed to the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains

Over the past 5–7 million years, humans and chimpanzees have diverged in brain size, structural complexity, and cognitive abilities despite high conservation of protein-coding genes. Notably, the...

biorxiv.org
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New preprint from our lab: ‘Retroviral insertions contributed to  the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains’. Very proud of this piece which took almost a decade to finish. biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
Retroviral insertions contributed to the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains

Retroviral insertions contributed to the divergence of human and chimpanzee brains

Over the past 5–7 million years, humans and chimpanzees have diverged in brain size, structural complexity, and cognitive abilities despite high conservation of protein-coding genes. Notably, the...

biorxiv.org
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In this manuscript we describe how an ancient retroviral pandemic likely played a significant role in primate evolution, potentially through a population bottleneck early in ape evolution.
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Our work provides a new genetic mechanism that influenced potentially both speciation and development of the human and chimpanzee brains. Big shoutout to all our collaborators! This project was truly a fantastic collaborative effort.
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Cell Press (@CellPressNews) profile picture
Cell Press@CellPressNews18 Nov 2025
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells and regulate early brain development. A study by @JakobssonLab & co-workers in @CellGenomics #SfN2025 hubs.li/Q03TbVnb0
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

Adami et al. demonstrate that evolutionarily young L1s are expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and are dynamically regulated throughout neural differentiation. The study examines the role of...

cell.com
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Updated version of our preprint on how SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 controls the expression of L1 elements in human neural progenitor cells. The new analysis in this revised version supports a role for active DNA demethylation of L1s in the absence of H3K9me3. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
Loss of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 in human neural progenitor cells leads to transcriptional activat...

Loss of SETDB1-mediated H3K9me3 in human neural progenitor cells leads to transcriptional activat...

Heterochromatin is characterised by an inaccessibility to the transcriptional machinery and is associated with the histone mark H3K9me3. However, studying the functional consequences of heterochrom...

biorxiv.org
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Cell Genomics (@CellGenomics) profile picture
Cell Genomics@CellGenomics10 Oct 2025
Hominoid-specific retrotransposons fuel regulatory novelty in early brain development dlvr.it/TNbsZn
Hominoid-specific retrotransposons fuel regulatory novelty in early brain development

Hominoid-specific retrotransposons fuel regulatory novelty in early brain development

Transposable elements can drive genetic innovation. In this issue of Cell Genomics, Adami et al. investigate the impact of hominoid-specific L1 retrotransposons on early embryonic and brain develop...

cell.com
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Cell Genomics (@CellGenomics) profile picture
Cell Genomics@CellGenomics9 Oct 2025
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells and regulate early brain development dlvr.it/TNZNN3
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

Adami et al. demonstrate that evolutionarily young L1s are expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and are dynamically regulated throughout neural differentiation. The study examines the role of...

cell.com
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
John Lukens (@LukensJohnR) profile picture
John Lukens
@LukensJohnR15 Sep 2025
Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell-type-specific interferon response in Parkinson’s disease biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
Image from John Lukens (@LukensJohnR)
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Christos Proukakis (@proukakis) profile picture
Christos Proukakis@proukakis13 Sep 2025
brilliant work from ⁦@JakobssonLab⁩ biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell-type-specific interferon...

Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell-type-specific interferon...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common age-related neurodegenerative disorder involving a neuroinflammatory response, the cause of which remains unclear. Transposable elements (TE) have been linked to...

biorxiv.org
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New preprint from my lab! We describe how transposable elements are activated in Parkinson’s disease, which is linked to an interferon response. We believe this study significantly advances our understanding of transposons in the human brain. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell-type-specific interferon...

Activation of transposable elements is linked to a region- and cell-type-specific interferon...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common age-related neurodegenerative disorder involving a neuroinflammatory response, the cause of which remains unclear. Transposable elements (TE) have been linked to...

biorxiv.org
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Cell Genomics (@CellGenomics) profile picture
Cell Genomics@CellGenomics22 Aug 2025
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells and regulate early brain development dlvr.it/TMdp9S
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

Adami et al. demonstrate that evolutionarily young L1s are expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and are dynamically regulated throughout neural differentiation. The study examines the role of...

cell.com
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New paper from our lab! We found that LINE-1 transposons contribute to early human brain development. @CellGenomics cell.com/cell-genomics/fullt…
LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

LINE-1 retrotransposons mediate cis-acting transcriptional control in human pluripotent stem cells...

Adami et al. demonstrate that evolutionarily young L1s are expressed in human pluripotent stem cells and are dynamically regulated throughout neural differentiation. The study examines the role of...

cell.com
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#TransposonDay2025 New manuscript from our center to which we contributed. Provides a mechanistic explanation for how L1s are silenced during early human development. doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.11.6…
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Johan Jakobsson retweeted
Christopher Douse (@ch_douse) profile picture
Christopher Douse@ch_douse17 Apr 2025
Come to Lund! We are looking for a postdoc to join the team. #transposons #epigenetics
Image from Christopher Douse (@ch_douse)
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