Syncytin, envelope protein of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV): no longer 'fossil' in human genome

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are 'fossil viruses' that resulted from stable integrations of exogenous retroviruses throughout evolution. HERVs are defective and do not produce infectious viral particles. However, some HERVs retain a limited coding capacity and produce retroviral t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal cells and systems 2021, 25(6), , pp.358-368
Main Authors: Durnaoglu, Serpen, Lee, Sun-Kyung, Ahnn, Joohong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
cancer
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 vaccines
Endogenous retroviruses
Genomes
HERV
Infertility
Mental disorders
Molecular structure
Neural coding
neurodegenerative disease
Neurological diseases
placenta
Proteins
Respiratory diseases
Review
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Signs and symptoms
Spike protein
Structure-function relationships
Syncytin
Viral diseases
Viral envelope proteins
생물학
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Summary:Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are 'fossil viruses' that resulted from stable integrations of exogenous retroviruses throughout evolution. HERVs are defective and do not produce infectious viral particles. However, some HERVs retain a limited coding capacity and produce retroviral transcripts and proteins, which function in human developmental process and various pathologies, including many cancers and neurological diseases. Recently, it has been reported that HERVs are differently expressed in COVID-19 disease caused by infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this review, we discuss the molecular structure and function of HERV ENV proteins, particularly syncytins, and their conventional roles in human development and diseases, and potential involvement in COVID-19 regarding the newly reported mental symptoms. We also address COVID-19 vaccine-related infertility concerns arising from the similarity of syncytin with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which have been proved invalid.
ISSN:1976-8354
2151-2485
DOI:10.1080/19768354.2021.2019109