4.4 Article

Expression profiles of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K and HERV-R Env proteins in various cancers

Journal

BMB REPORTS
Volume 54, Issue 7, Pages 368-373

Publisher

KOREAN SOCIETY BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
DOI: 10.5483/BMBRep.2021.54.7.246

Keywords

Cancer; Env; Expression pattern; HERV

Funding

  1. National Research Foundation - Korean Government [NRF-2016R1D1A3B01007444]

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The study revealed significantly increased expression of HERV-K and HERV-R Env proteins in various cancer tissues, with expression patterns varying among individuals and cancer types. The correlations between HERV-Env expression and clinical investigations varied, indicating the potentially significant role of endogenous retroviral Env proteins in cancer progression.
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 non-infectious 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.

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