An ancient family of human endogenous retroviruses encodes a functional homolog of the HIV-1 Rev protein

作者：Yang J; Bogerd HP; Peng S; Wiegand H; Truant R; Cullen BR^*

来源：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1999, 96(23): 13404-13408.

DOI：10.1073/pnas.96.23.13404

The human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) family of endogenous retroviruses consists of approximate to 50 proviral copies per haploid human genome. Herein, the HERV-Ks are shown to encode a sequence-specific nuclear RNA export factor, termed K-Rev, that is functionally analogous to the HIV-1 Rev protein. Like HIV-1 Rev, K-Rev binds to both the Crm1 nuclear export factor and to a cis-acting viral RNA target to activate nuclear export of unspliced RNAs. Surprisingly, this HERV-K RNA sequence, which is encoded within the HERV-K long terminal repeat, is also recognized by HIV-1 Rev. These data provide surprising evidence for an evolutionary link between HIV-1 and a group of endogenous retroviruses that first entered the human genome approximate to 30 million years ago.

• 出版日期1999-11-9