Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV), ancient integrations of exogenous viruses, make up 8% of our genome. Long thought of as mere vestigial genetic elements, evidence is now accumulating to suggest a potential functional role in numerous pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune...
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doaj-685f96c825364445a733136acde7d87f2021-05-13T07:30:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oncology2234-943X2021-05-011110.3389/fonc.2021.658489658489Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in CancerEoin Dervan0Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya1Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya2Jake D. McAuliffe3Faizan H. Khan4Sharon A. Glynn5Discipline of Pathology, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, IrelandDiscipline of Pathology, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, IrelandLaboratory of Cancer ImmunoMetabolism, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD, United StatesDiscipline of Pathology, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, IrelandDiscipline of Pathology, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, IrelandDiscipline of Pathology, Lambe Institute for Translational Research, School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Galway, IrelandHuman endogenous retroviruses (HERV), ancient integrations of exogenous viruses, make up 8% of our genome. Long thought of as mere vestigial genetic elements, evidence is now accumulating to suggest a potential functional role in numerous pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders, and multiple cancers. The youngest member of this group of transposable elements is HERV-K (HML-2). Like the majority of HERV sequences, significant post-insertional mutations have disarmed HERV-K (HML-2), preventing it from producing infectious viral particles. However, some insertions have retained limited coding capacity, and complete open reading frames for all its constituent proteins can be found throughout the genome. For this reason HERV-K (HML-2) has garnered more attention than its peers. The tight epigenetic control thought to suppress expression in healthy tissue is lost during carcinogenesis. Upregulation of HERV-K (HML-2) derived mRNA and protein has been reported in a variety of solid and liquid tumour types, and while causality has yet to be established, progressively more data are emerging to suggest this phenomenon may contribute to tumour growth and metastatic capacity. Herein we discuss its potential utility as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic target in light of the current in vitro, in vivo and clinical evidence linking HERV-K (HML-2) to tumour progression.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.658489/fullHERV human endogenous retrovirusescancermetastasisepigeneticsbiomarkertransposable element (TE) |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Eoin Dervan Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Jake D. McAuliffe Faizan H. Khan Sharon A. Glynn |
spellingShingle |
Eoin Dervan Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Jake D. McAuliffe Faizan H. Khan Sharon A. Glynn Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer Frontiers in Oncology HERV human endogenous retroviruses cancer metastasis epigenetics biomarker transposable element (TE) |
author_facet |
Eoin Dervan Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Dibyangana D. Bhattacharyya Jake D. McAuliffe Faizan H. Khan Sharon A. Glynn |
author_sort |
Eoin Dervan |
title |
Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer |
title_short |
Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer |
title_full |
Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer |
title_fullStr |
Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ancient Adversary – HERV-K (HML-2) in Cancer |
title_sort |
ancient adversary – herv-k (hml-2) in cancer |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Oncology |
issn |
2234-943X |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV), ancient integrations of exogenous viruses, make up 8% of our genome. Long thought of as mere vestigial genetic elements, evidence is now accumulating to suggest a potential functional role in numerous pathologies including neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders, and multiple cancers. The youngest member of this group of transposable elements is HERV-K (HML-2). Like the majority of HERV sequences, significant post-insertional mutations have disarmed HERV-K (HML-2), preventing it from producing infectious viral particles. However, some insertions have retained limited coding capacity, and complete open reading frames for all its constituent proteins can be found throughout the genome. For this reason HERV-K (HML-2) has garnered more attention than its peers. The tight epigenetic control thought to suppress expression in healthy tissue is lost during carcinogenesis. Upregulation of HERV-K (HML-2) derived mRNA and protein has been reported in a variety of solid and liquid tumour types, and while causality has yet to be established, progressively more data are emerging to suggest this phenomenon may contribute to tumour growth and metastatic capacity. Herein we discuss its potential utility as a diagnostic tool and therapeutic target in light of the current in vitro, in vivo and clinical evidence linking HERV-K (HML-2) to tumour progression. |
topic |
HERV human endogenous retroviruses cancer metastasis epigenetics biomarker transposable element (TE) |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.658489/full |
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