Comprehensive Characterization of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-K(HML-6) Group: Overview of Structure, Phylogeny, and Contribution to the Human Genome.

ABSTRACT: Eight percent of the human genome is composed of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), remnants of ancestral germ line infections by exogenous retroviruses, which have been vertically transmitted as Mendelian characters. The HML-6 group, a member of the class II betaretrovirus-like viruses, includes several proviral loci with an increased transcriptional activity in cancer and at least two elements that are known for retaining an intact open reading frame and for encoding small proteins such as ERVK3-1, which is expressed in various healthy tissues, and HERV-K-MEL, a small Env peptide expressed in samples of cutaneous and ocular melanoma but not in normal tissues.IMPORTANCE We reported the distribution and genetic composition of 66 HML-6 elements. We analyzed the phylogeny of the H

SUBMITTER: Pisano MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6675890 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature