Hohenadl C, Leib-Mösch C, Hehlmann R, Erfle V
III Medizinische Klinik, Klinikum Mannheim, Universität Heidelberg, Germany.
J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol. 1996;13 Suppl 1:S268-73. doi: 10.1097/00042560-199600001-00040.
Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) have been known for many years to exist in numerous natural and laboratory animal species. In humans it has been demonstrated that at least 1% of the genome consists of retrovirus-related sequences. Involvement of ERVs in the development of neoplastic and autoimmune diseases in the mouse model implicated a potentially pathogenic role of ERVs for humans, too. The research in this field led to a number of results strongly suggesting that human endogenous retroviral sequences (HERVs) are biologically active, on the RNA and even on the protein level. Particle formation, regulation or dysregulation of cellular gene expression, and synthesis of potentially pathogenic viral proteins indicate the broad spectrum of mechanisms by which HERVs may obtain biological significance.
多年来，人们已经知道内源性逆转录病毒（ERVs）存在于众多自然和实验动物物种中。在人类中，已经证明至少1%的基因组由逆转录病毒相关序列组成。在小鼠模型中，ERVs参与肿瘤和自身免疫性疾病的发展，这也暗示了ERVs对人类可能具有致病作用。该领域的研究得出了许多结果，强烈表明人类内源性逆转录病毒序列（HERVs）在RNA甚至蛋白质水平上具有生物活性。颗粒形成、细胞基因表达的调节或失调以及潜在致病病毒蛋白的合成表明HERVs可能获得生物学意义的广泛机制。
