Endogenous retroviruses in development, immunity, and disease: From regulatory roles to therapeutic opportunities - PubMed
4 hours ago
- #Endogenous retroviruses
- #Therapeutic targets
- #Epigenetic regulation
- Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) make up about 8% of the human genome and have evolved from viral remnants to key regulators of host biology.
- ERVs play regulatory roles in development, immunity, and genome regulation through functional long terminal repeats (LTRs) and repurposed protein-coding genes.
- Dysregulation of ERVs is linked to various diseases, including cancer, autoimmunity, neurodegeneration, and immune-microbiota imbalance.
- ERV reactivation influences tumor microenvironments, chronic inflammation, and epigenetic instability during aging.
- ERVs are emerging as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets, with strategies like viral mimicry immunotherapy and CRISPR-based silencing.
- Future research aims to integrate single-cell omics, genome editing, and immunogenomics to develop ERV-centered diagnostics and therapies.