Department of Parasitology and Genetics, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49267; Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea.
Department of Physiology, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan 49267, Korea.
BMB Rep. 2021 Jul;54(7):368-373. doi: 10.5483/BMBRep.2021.54.7.246.
The vertebrate genome contains an endogenous retrovirus that has been inherited from the past millions of years. Although approximately 8% of human chromosomal DNA consists of sequences derived from human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) fragments, most of the HERVs are currently inactive and noninfectious due to recombination, deletions, and mutations after insertion into the host genome. Several studies suggested that Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) factors are significantly related to certain cancers. However, only limited studies have been conducted to analyze the expression of HERV derived elements at protein levels in certain cancers. Herein, we analyzed the expression profiles of HERV-K envelope (Env) and HERV-R Env proteins in eleven different kinds of cancer tissues. Furthermore, the expression patterns of both protein and correlation with various clinical data in each tissue were analyzed. The expressions of both HERV-K Env and HERV-R Env protein were identified to be significantly high in most of the tumors compared with normal surrounding tissues. Correlations between HERV Env expressions and clinical investigations varied depending on the HERV types and cancers. Overall expression patterns of HERV-K Env and HERV-R Env proteins were different in every individual but a similar pattern of expressions was observed in the same individual. These results demonstrate the expression profiles of HERV-K and HERV-R Env proteins in various cancer tissues and provide a good reference for the association of endogenous retroviral Env proteins in the progression of various cancers. Furthermore, the results elucidate the relationship between HERV-Env expression and the clinical significance of certain cancers. [BMB Reports 2021; 54(7): 368-373].
脊椎动物基因组中含有一种内源性逆转录病毒，这种病毒是从过去数百万年中遗传下来的。虽然人类染色体 DNA 的大约 8%由源自人类内源性逆转录病毒（HERV）片段的序列组成，但由于插入宿主基因组后的重组、缺失和突变，大多数 HERV 目前是不活跃且无传染性的。一些研究表明，人类内源性逆转录病毒（HERV）因子与某些癌症显著相关。然而，只有有限的研究分析了在某些癌症中蛋白质水平上 HERV 衍生元件的表达。在此，我们分析了 11 种不同癌症组织中 HERV-K 包膜（Env）和 HERV-R Env 蛋白的表达谱。此外，还分析了两种蛋白的表达模式及其与每种组织中各种临床数据的相关性。与正常周围组织相比，大多数肿瘤中 HERV-K Env 和 HERV-R Env 蛋白的表达均明显升高。HERV Env 表达与临床研究之间的相关性因 HERV 类型和癌症而异。HERV-K Env 和 HERV-R Env 蛋白的总体表达模式在每个人中都不同，但在同一人中观察到相似的表达模式。这些结果表明了 HERV-K 和 HERV-R Env 蛋白在各种癌症组织中的表达谱，并为内源性逆转录病毒 Env 蛋白在各种癌症进展中的相关性提供了很好的参考。此外，结果阐明了 HERV-Env 表达与某些癌症临床意义之间的关系。[BMB 报告 2021；54(7): 368-373]。
