Therapeutic potential of antiviral drugs targeting chemorefractory colorectal adenocarcinoma cells overexpressing endogenous retroviral elements.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Endoretroviruses account for circa 8 % of all transposable elements found in the genome of humans and other animals. They represent a genetic footprint of ancestral germ-cell infections of exoviruses that is transmittable to the progeny by Mendelian segregation. Traces of human endogenous retroviruses are physiologically expressed in ovarial, testicular and placental tissues as well as in stem cells. In addition, a number of these fossil viral elements have also been related to carcinogenesis. However, a relation between endoretroviruses expression and chemoresistance has not been reported yet.

Methods

Twenty colorectal carcinoma patient samples were scrutinized for HERV-WE1 and HERV-FRD1 endoretroviruses using immunohistochemical approaches. In order to search fo

SUBMITTER: Diaz-Carballo D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4542094 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature