Human Endogenous Retrovirus as Therapeutic Targets in Neurologic Disease.

ABSTRACT: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are ancient retroviral DNA sequences established into germline. They contain regulatory elements and encoded proteins few of which may provide benefits to hosts when co-opted as cellular genes. Their tight regulation is mainly achieved by epigenetic mechanisms, which can be altered by environmental factors, e.g., viral infections, leading to HERV activation. The aberrant expression of HERVs associates with neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), inflammatory processes and neurodegeneration. This review summarizes the recent advances on the epigenetic mechanisms controlling HERV expression and the pathogenic effects triggered by HERV de-repression. This article ends by describing new, promising ther

SUBMITTER: Gimenez-Orenga K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8225122 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature