HERVs: Expression Control Mechanisms and Interactions in Diseases and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection
Federica Mantovani, Konstantina Kitsou, Gkikas Magiorkinis
Abstract
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are the result of retroviral infections acquired millions of years ago; nowadays, they compose around 8% of human DNA. Multiple mechanisms have been employed for endogenous retroviral deactivation, rendering replication and retrotransposition defective, while some of them have been co-opted to serve host evolutionary advantages. A pleiad of mechanisms retains the delicate balance of HERV expression in modern humans. Thus, epigenetic modifications, such as DNA and histone methylation, acetylation, deamination, chromatin remodeling, and even post-transcriptional control are recruited. In this review, we aim to summarize the main HERV silencing pathways, revisit paradigms of human disease with a HERV component, and emphasize the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HERV interactions during HIV infection.