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Elkhalifa AME, Nabi SU, Shah OS, Bashir SM, Muzaffer U, Ali SI, Wani IA, Alzerwi NAN, Elderdery AY, Alanazi A, Alenazy FO, Alharbi AHA. Insight into Oncogenic Viral Pathways as Drivers of Viral Cancers: Implication for Effective Therapy. Curr Oncol 2023; 30:1924-1944. [PMID: 36826111 PMCID: PMC9955780 DOI: 10.3390/curroncol30020150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
As per a recent study conducted by the WHO, 15.4% of all cancers are caused by infectious agents of various categories, and more than 10% of them are attributed to viruses. The emergence of COVID-19 has once again diverted the scientific community's attention toward viral diseases. Some researchers have postulated that SARS-CoV-2 will add its name to the growing list of oncogenic viruses in the long run. However, owing to the complexities in carcinogenesis of viral origin, researchers across the world are struggling to identify the common thread that runs across different oncogenic viruses. Classical pathways of viral oncogenesis have identified oncogenic mediators in oncogenic viruses, but these mediators have been reported to act on diverse cellular and multiple omics pathways. In addition to viral mediators of carcinogenesis, researchers have identified various host factors responsible for viral carcinogenesis. Henceforth owing to viral and host complexities in viral carcinogenesis, a singular mechanistic pathway remains yet to be established; hence there is an urgent need to integrate concepts from system biology, cancer microenvironment, evolutionary perspective, and thermodynamics to understand the role of viruses as drivers of cancer. In the present manuscript, we provide a holistic view of the pathogenic pathways involved in viral oncogenesis with special emphasis on alteration in the tumor microenvironment, genomic alteration, biological entropy, evolutionary selection, and host determinants involved in the pathogenesis of viral tumor genesis. These concepts can provide important insight into viral cancers, which can have an important implication for developing novel, effective, and personalized therapeutic options for treating viral cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed M. E. Elkhalifa
- Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh 11673, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Haematology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of El Imam El Mahdi, Kosti 1158, Sudan
- Correspondence:
| | - Showkat Ul Nabi
- Large Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ethics & Jurisprudence, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Ovais Shabir Shah
- Department of Sheep Husbandry Kashmir, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar 182301, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Showkeen Muzamil Bashir
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Lab, Division of Veterinary Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Umar Muzaffer
- Department of Medicine, Government Medical College and Associated Hospital, Srinagar 190010, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Sofi Imtiyaz Ali
- Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Lab, Division of Veterinary Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Imtiyaz Ahmad Wani
- Clinical Research Laboratory, SKIMS, Srinagar 190011, Jammu and Kashmir, India
| | - Nasser A. N. Alzerwi
- Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Majmaah University, Ministry of Education, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abozer Y. Elderdery
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
| | - Awadh Alanazi
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fawaz O. Alenazy
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Jouf University, Sakaka 72388, Saudi Arabia
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A comprehensive investigation of human endogenous retroviral syncytin proteins and their receptors in men with normozoospermia and impaired semen quality. J Assist Reprod Genet 2023; 40:97-111. [PMID: 36469256 PMCID: PMC9734899 DOI: 10.1007/s10815-022-02673-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The study aims to investigate first the presence of Syncytin 2 and its receptor, MFSD2, in human sperm, and second whether the expressions of Syncytin 1, Syncytin 2, and their receptors, SLC1A5 and MFSD2, differ between normozoospermic, asthenozoospermic, oligozoospermic, and oligoasthenozoospermic human sperm samples. METHODS The localization patterns and expression levels of syncytins and their receptors were evaluated in normozoospermic (concentration = 88.9 ± 5.5 × 106, motility = 79.2 ± 3.15%, n = 30), asthenozoospermic (concentration = 51.7 ± 7.18 × 106, motility = 24.0 ± 3.12%, n = 15), mild oligozoospermic (concentration = 13.5 ± 2.17 × 106, motility = 72.1 ± 6.5%, n = 15), moderate oligozoospermic (concentration = 8.4 ± 3.21 × 106, motility = 65.1 ± 8.9%, n = 15), severe oligozoospermic (concentration = 2.1 ± 1.01 × 106, motility = 67.5 ± 3.2%, n = 15), and oligoasthenozoospermic (concentration = 5.5 ± 3.21 × 106, motility = 18.5 ± 1.2%, n = 15) samples by immunofluorescence staining and western blot. RESULTS Syncytins and their receptors visualized by immunofluorescence showed similar staining patterns with slight staining of the tail in all spermatozoa regardless of normozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, oligozoospermia, or oligoasthenozoospermia. The localization patterns were categorized as equatorial segment, midpiece region, acrosome, and post-acrosomal areas. The combined staining patterns were also detected as acrosomal cap plus post acrosomal region, the midpiece plus equatorial segment, and midpiece plus acrosomal region. However, some sperm cells were categorized as non-stained. Both syncytin proteins were most intensely localized in the midpiece region, while their receptors were predominantly present in the midpiece plus acrosomal region. Conspicuously, syncytins and their receptors showed decreased expression in asthenozospermic, oligozoospermic, and oligoasthenozoospermic samples compared to normozoospermic samples. CONCLUSION The expression patterns of HERV-derived syncytins and their receptors were identical regardless of the spermatozoa in men with normozoospermia versus impaired semen quality. Further, asthenozoospermia, oligozoospermia, and oligoasthenozoospermia as male fertility issues are associated with decreased expression of both syncytins and their receptors.
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Chabukswar S, Grandi N, Tramontano E. Prolonged activity of HERV-K(HML2) in Old World Monkeys accounts for recent integrations and novel recombinant variants. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1040792. [PMID: 36532485 PMCID: PMC9751479 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1040792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Around 8% of the human genome comprises Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs) acquired over primate evolution. Some are specific to primates such as HERV-K, consisting of 10 HML subtypes and including the most recently acquired elements. Particularly, HML2 is the youngest clade, having some human-specific integrations, and while it has been widely described in humans its presence and distribution in non-human primates remain poorly characterized. To investigate HML2 distribution in non-human primates, the present study focused on the characterization of HML2 integrations in Macaca fascicularis and Macaca mulatta which are the most evolutionarily distant species related to humans in the Catarrhini parvorder. We identified overall 208 HML2 proviruses for M. fascicularis (77) and M. mulatta (131). Among them, 46 proviruses are shared by the two species while the others are species specific. Only 12 proviruses were shared with humans, confirming that the major wave of HML2 diffusion in humans occurred after macaques' divergence. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed structural variations between HML2 macaques' species-specific proviruses, and the ones shared between macaques and humans. The HML2 loci were characterized in terms of structure, focusing on potential residual open reading frames (ORFs) for gag, pol, and env genes for the latter being reported to be expressed in human pathological conditions. The analysis identified highly conserved gag and pol genes, while the env genes had a very divergent nature. Of the 208 HML2 proviral sequences present in Macaca species, 81 sequences form a cluster having a MER11A, a characteristic HML8 LTR sequence, insertion in the env region indicating a recombination event that occurred between the HML2 env gene and the HML8 LTR. This recombination event, which was shown to be present only in a subset of macaques' shared sequences and species-specific sequences, highlights a recent viral activity leading to the emergence of an env variant specific to the Old World Monkeys (OWMs). We performed an exhaustive analysis of HML2 in two species of OWMs, in terms of its evolutionary history, structural features, and potential residual coding capacity highlighting recent activity of HML2 in macaques that occurred after its split from the Catarrhini parvorder, leading to the emergence of viral variants, hence providing a better understanding of the endogenization and diffusion of HML2 along primate evolution.
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Shah AH, Govindarajan V, Doucet-O'Hare TT, Rivas S, Ampie L, DeMarino C, Banasavadi-Siddegowda YK, Zhang Y, Johnson KR, Almsned F, Gilbert MR, Heiss JD, Nath A. Differential expression of an endogenous retroviral element [HERV-K(HML-6)] is associated with reduced survival in glioblastoma patients. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6902. [PMID: 35477752 PMCID: PMC9046263 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10914-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Comprising approximately 8% of our genome, Human Endogenous RetroViruses (HERVs) represent a class of germline retroviral infections that are regulated through epigenetic modifications. In cancer cells, which often have epigenetic dysregulation, HERVs have been implicated as potential oncogenic drivers. However, their role in gliomas is not known. Given the link between HERV expression in cancer cell lines and the distinct epigenetic dysregulation in gliomas, we utilized a tailored bioinformatic pipeline to characterize and validate the glioma retrotranscriptome and correlate HERV expression with locus-specific epigenetic modifications. We identified robust overexpression of multiple HERVs in our cell lines, including a retroviral transcript, HML-6, at 19q13.43b in glioblastoma cells. HERV expression inversely correlated with loci-specific DNA methylation. HML-6 contains an intact open reading frame encoding a small envelope protein, ERVK3-1. Increased expression of ERVK3-1 in GBM patients is associated with a poor prognosis independent of IDH-mutational status. Our results suggest that not only is HML-6 uniquely overexpressed in highly invasive cell lines and tissue samples, but also its gene product, ERVK3-1, may be associated with reduced survival in GBM patients. These results may have implications for both the tumor biology of GBM and the role of ERVK3-1 as a potential therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish H Shah
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - Vaidya Govindarajan
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Tara T Doucet-O'Hare
- Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Neuro-Oncology Branch (NOB), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sarah Rivas
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Leo Ampie
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Catherine DeMarino
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Yong Zhang
- Bioinformatics Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kory R Johnson
- Bioinformatics Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Fahad Almsned
- Bioinformatics Section, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mark R Gilbert
- Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Neuro-Oncology Branch (NOB), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - John D Heiss
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Avindra Nath
- Surgical Neurology Branch, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Bethesda, MD, USA
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Durnaoglu S, Lee SK, Ahnn J. Syncytin, envelope protein of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV): no longer 'fossil' in human genome. Anim Cells Syst (Seoul) 2022; 25:358-368. [PMID: 35059135 PMCID: PMC8765258 DOI: 10.1080/19768354.2021.2019109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are 'fossil viruses' that resulted from stable integrations of exogenous retroviruses throughout evolution. HERVs are defective and do not produce infectious viral particles. However, some HERVs retain a limited coding capacity and produce retroviral transcripts and proteins, which function in human developmental process and various pathologies, including many cancers and neurological diseases. Recently, it has been reported that HERVs are differently expressed in COVID-19 disease caused by infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this review, we discuss the molecular structure and function of HERV ENV proteins, particularly syncytins, and their conventional roles in human development and diseases, and potential involvement in COVID-19 regarding the newly reported mental symptoms. We also address COVID-19 vaccine-related infertility concerns arising from the similarity of syncytin with the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which have been proved invalid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serpen Durnaoglu
- College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute for Natural Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sun-Kyung Lee
- College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute for Natural Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Joohong Ahnn
- College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute for Natural Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Qiao S, Sun QY, Zhang SC, Zhang RR, Wu YJ, Wang ZH, Liu XW. Role of Increased Syncytin-1 Expression in Pathogenesis of Anti-N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2022; 18:1535-1543. [PMID: 35937712 PMCID: PMC9346417 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s374798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Syncytin-1 may play a role in several neuropsychiatric disorders, but its function in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the possible mechanism of action of syncytin-1 in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. PATIENTS AND METHODS Twenty patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and eight controls were recruited. The protein levels of syncytin-1 in serum were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the transcript levels of syncytin-1 were determined using real-time quantitative PCR. Flow cytometry was used for peripheral blood lymphocyte subset detection. Further, the relationship between syncytin-1 levels and clinical features of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets was analyzed. RESULTS Compared with those in controls, higher syncytin-1 levels and percentage of B cells (CD3-CD19+) were observed in patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis. Among anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients, the level of syncytin-1 positively correlated with the proportion of B cells and modified Rankin scale score at onset and after immunotherapy and negatively correlated with the proportion of CD3+ T cells. CONCLUSION An increased expression of Syncytin-1 is associated with the pathogenesis of anti-NMDAR encephalitis, providing evidence for elucidating the pathogenesis of the disease and suggesting novel therapeutic targets. Further, this study clarifies the role of syncytin-1 in neuroimmune disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Qiao
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, People's Republic of China.,Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Quan-Ye Sun
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Central Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Shan-Chao Zhang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Ran-Ran Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Jiao Wu
- Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhi-Hao Wang
- Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
| | - Xue-Wu Liu
- Department of Neurology, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Epilepsy, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China
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