Human endogenous retrovirus K envelope mRNA transcript (HERV-K env mRNA)

Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) envelope (env) mRNA transcript is a product of the HML-2 subfamily, the most recently integrated and biologically active endogenous retroviruses in the human genome (Li et al., 2015, Nature Communications). While these viral elements are typically silenced in healthy adult tissues, the env mRNA is frequently reactivated and overexpressed in various pathological conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and several cancers such as melanoma and breast carcinoma (Nath, 2015, Lancet Neurology). The transcript serves as the template for the synthesis of the HERV-K Env protein, which has been implicated in neurotoxicity, cell-cell fusion, and the modulation of host immune responses (Garcia-Montojo et al., 2018, Frontiers in Genetics). As a therapeutic target, the mRNA transcript is approached using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) or RNA interference (RNAi) to selectively degrade the viral RNA and prevent the production of the pathogenic protein (Ibba et al., 2018, Viruses). This strategy aims to mitigate the inflammatory and degenerative processes driven by HERV-K reactivation in diseased cells. Monitoring the levels of HERV-K env mRNA is also being explored as a biomarker for disease activity and to evaluate the efficacy of emerging retroviral-targeted therapies (Steiner et al., 2022, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology).

Other names

HERV-K(HML-2) env mRNAERVK envelope transcriptHuman endogenous retrovirus K envelope RNAHK2 env mRNAHERV-K envelope mRNA

Antisense-mediated mRNA degradation and RNA interference to prevent translation of the HERV-K Env protein.