研究人员发现，人类基因组中藏有大量的包膜衍生序列，具有限制逆转录病毒感染的潜力。为了验证这一点，研究人员对一种包膜衍生的蛋白（Suppressyn）进行了测试。研究人员发现，Suppressyn利用其祖先的逆转录病毒启动子在人类植入前的胚胎和发育中的胎盘中表达。细胞培养实验表明，Suppressyn及其同源物可以限制现存哺乳动物D型逆转录病毒的感染。这些数据支持一个可推广的逆转录病毒包膜合作模式，可用于宿主免疫和基因组防御。
据了解，内源性逆转录病毒是哺乳动物基因组中丰富的组成部分，由古老的生殖系感染而来。在一些哺乳动物中，由这些元件编码的包膜蛋白可以防止外源性病毒，但在人类中内源性表达的包膜还没有记录到这种活性。
附：英文原文
Title: Evolution and antiviral activity of a human protein of retroviral origin
Author: John A. Frank, Manvendra Singh, Harrison B. Cullen, Raphael A. Kirou, Meriem Benkaddour-Boumzaouad, Jose L. Cortes, Jose Garcia Pérez, Carolyn B. Coyne, Cédric Feschotte
Issue&Volume: 2022-10-28
Abstract: Endogenous retroviruses are abundant components of mammalian genomes descended from ancient germline infections. In several mammals, the envelope proteins encoded by these elements protect against exogenous viruses, but this activity has not been documented with endogenously expressed envelopes in humans. We report that the human genome harbors a large pool of envelope-derived sequences with the potential to restrict retroviral infection. To test this, we characterized an envelope-derived protein, Suppressyn. We found that Suppressyn is expressed in human preimplantation embryos and developing placenta using its ancestral retroviral promoter. Cell culture assays showed that Suppressyn, and its hominoid orthologs, could restrict infection by extant mammalian type D retroviruses. Our data support a generalizable model of retroviral envelope co-option for host immunity and genome defense.
DOI: abq7871
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq7871