Photo from wikipedia
Significance A large percentage of the human genome is composed of repetitive elements that are relics of past viral infections. Expression of these human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) is associated with… Click to show full abstract
Significance A large percentage of the human genome is composed of repetitive elements that are relics of past viral infections. Expression of these human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) is associated with a variety of diseases, including cancer; however, causality remains to be established. A subset of these HERVs express proteins with reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. This has inspired several clinical studies of antiviral RT inhibitors for indications in which HERV expression is associated with disease. We have determined the X-ray structure of an HERV reverse transcriptase. This structure clarifies the reasons for poor inhibition by 3TC (lamivudine) and lack of inhibition by nonnucleoside inhibitors nevirapine and efavirenz. This structure will enable the design of selective HERV-K RT tools for drug target validation.
Journal Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Year Published: 2022
Link to full text (if available)
Share on Social Media: Sign Up to like & get
recommendations!