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Identification and expression analysis of human endogenous retrovirus Y (HERV-Y) in various human tissues

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Abstract

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) account for approximately 8 % of the human genome. To date, several HERV families have been identified in the human genome, with some being valid biomarkers for specific disease states. In this study, we have identified three HERV-Y elements in the human genome and characterized their structure and expression in various human tissues. New HERV-Y elements (HERV-Y101, HERV-Y102, and HERV-Y103) were detected on human chromosomes 8 and 13. In a pol-based phylogenetic tree, HERV-Y elements were closely grouped with HERV-I, -T, -E, and –R. The HERV-Y pol gene was expressed ubiquitously in all examined tissues, and it was dominantly expressed in the pons among the 12 different brain regions investigated. These results will allow future studies to elucidate the potential functional roles of HERVs in the brain and other tissues.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a research program funded by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013-E7200201; 4800-4845-301).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Republic of Korea

    Jeong-An Gim & Heui-Soo Kim

  2. Genetic Engineering Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, 609-735, Republic of Korea

    Jeong-An Gim & Heui-Soo Kim

  3. Department of Nanobiomedical Science and WCU Research Center, Dankook University, Cheonan, 330-714, Republic of Korea

    Kyudong Han

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Correspondence to Heui-Soo Kim.

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705_2015_2486_MOESM1_ESM.pptx

Figure S1 Alignment of the HERV-Y elements and amplification regions. The HERV-Y elements are similar, but the primer binding sites differ slightly. Thus, the three loci were differentially amplified. (A) The HERV-Y101 sequence was aligned with HERV-Y101 (chr8:39738865-39739004), HERV-Y102 (chr8:42418923-42419025), and HERV-Y103 (chr13:111846985-111847124). (B) The HERV-Y102 sequence was aligned with HERV-Y101 (chr8:39738640-39738742), HERV-Y102 (chr8:42419148-42419287), and HERV-Y103 (chr13:111846760-111846862). (C) The HERV-Y103 sequence was aligned with HERV-Y101 (chr8:39738794-39738927), HERV-Y102 (chr8:42419077-42419210), and HERV-Y103 (chr13:111846914-111847047). Blue shading indicates the primer binding sites. Sequences that overlap with the amplification regions are indicated by dots. “Amp.” indicates amplification regions. (PPTX 60 kb)

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Gim, JA., Han, K. & Kim, HS. Identification and expression analysis of human endogenous retrovirus Y (HERV-Y) in various human tissues. Arch Virol 160, 2161–2168 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-015-2486-z

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