表观遗传修饰对ERVs活性调控的研究进展

Progress on epigenetic regulation of ERVs activation

内源性逆转录病毒(ERVs)是在几百万年前通过侵入生殖细胞整合到宿主基因组,并以孟德尔方式遗传至今的逆转录病毒的残余物。ERVs通常被认为是垃圾DNA序列,但近年来,越来越多研究表明部分ERVs仍发挥重要的生理功能,如参与肿瘤、自身免疫疾病和神经相关疾病的发生发展。该文通过DNA甲基化、组蛋白修饰、m^(6)A以及非编码RNA等方面探讨ERVs活性调控以及疾病的发生与发展,并提出ERVs的激活或沉默状态主要受到表观遗传修饰的控制,ERVs的表观遗传调控机制将直接影响其生物学功能的正常发挥进一步影响疾病的发生与发展。为深入研究ERVs的活性调控以及疾病的预防提供了新思路。

Endogenous retroviruses(ERVs)are remnants of ancient retroviruses,which had infected the host and have been integrated into host genome millions of years ago and inherited through the Mendelian manner.ERVs was considered as“junk DNA”sequences in the past.However,a large number of recent studies have found that ERVs play an important biological role in the occurrence and development of tumor,autoimmune diseases and neuro-related diseases.This paper reviewed the regulation of ERVs activity through DNA methylation,histone modification,m^(6)A and non-coding RNA.Moreover the activation or silencing of ERVs mainly be regulated via epigenetic mechanisms and the epigenetic regulation mechanism of ERVs,which could directly affect biological functions of ERVs and further affect the occurrence and development of the disease.This provides a new way to further study the activity regulation of ERVs and the prevention of diseases.