Promoter expression of HERV-K (HML-2) provirus-derived sequences is related to LTR sequence variation and polymorphic transcription factor binding sites.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increased transcription of the human endogenous retrovirus group HERV-K (HML-2) is often seen during disease. Although the mechanism of its tissue-specific activation is unclear, research shows that LTR CpG hypomethylation alone is not sufficient to induce its promoter activity and that the transcriptional milieu of a malignant cell contributes, at least partly, to differential HML-2 expression.

Results

We analyzed the relationship between LTR sequence variation and promoter expression patterns in human breast cancer cell lines, finding them to be positively correlated. In particular, two proviruses (3q12.3 and 11p15.4) displayed increased activity in almost all tumorigenic cell lines sampled. Using a transcription factor binding site prediction algorithm, we iden

SUBMITTER: Montesion M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6102855 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature