Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) and non-HERV viruses incorporated into the human genome and their role in the development of autoimmune diseases

Iván Posso-Osorio; Gabriel J Tobón; Carlos A Cañas

doi:10.1016/j.jtauto.2021.100137

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV) and non-HERV viruses incorporated into the human genome and their role in the development of autoimmune diseases

J Transl Autoimmun. 2021 Dec 9:4:100137. doi: 10.1016/j.jtauto.2021.100137. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Iván Posso-Osorio^{1

2}, Gabriel J Tobón^{2

3}, Carlos A Cañas^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ CIRAT: Centro de Investigación en Reumatología, Autoinmunidad y Medicina Traslacional, Fundación Valle Del Lili and Universidad Icesi, Cali, Colombia.
² Fundación Valle del Lili, Rheumatology Unit, Cali, Colombia.
³ Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.

Abstract

Genomic incorporation of viruses as human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are components of our genome that possibly originated by incorporating ancestral of exogenous viruses. Their roles in the evolution of the human genome, gene expression, and the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases (ADs) and neoplastic phenomena are the subject of intense research. This review analyzes the evolutionary and virological aspects of HERVs and other viruses that incorporate their genome into the human genome and have known role in the genesis of ADs. These insights are helpful to understand further the possible role in autoimmunity genesis of HERVs, other ancestral viruses no HERVs and modern viruses with the ability to incorporate into the human genome or interact with HERVs.

Keywords: Autoimmune tautology; HERVs; Multiple sclerosis; Reverse transcriptase; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Publication types

Review