Summary.
Many lentiviruses encode a dUTPase which may protect against toxic misincorporation of dUTP into cDNA during reverse transcription. However, the primate lentiviruses HIV and SIV do not express a dUTPase. Significantly, the host genomes of these lentiviruses contain a multicopy endogenous retrovirus which is absent in non-primate genomes. In humans, this endogenous retrovirus is known as HERV-K and encodes a potential dUTPase sequence. Previously, we have suggested that HIV infection is complemented by a cytosolic dUTPase derived from the dUTPase gene encoded by HERV-K. This study demonstrates expression of HERV-K dUTPase transcripts and protein in human cell lines using RT-PCR and western blot analysis. Immunocytochemistry showed that HERV-K dUTPase was predominantly located in cell cytoplasm when transiently expressed in COS-1 cells. These data provide substantiation and support for the hypothesis above and is the first documentation of expression of an enzyme of nucleotide metabolism expressed by an endogenous retrovirus.
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Accepted July 21, 1999/Received January 13, 1999
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Harris, J., McIntosh, E. & Muscat, G. Expression and cytoplasmic localisation of deoxyuridine triphosphate pyrophosphatase encoded by a human endogenous retrovirus. Arch. Virol. 145, 353–363 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007050050027
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007050050027