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- Title
Disruption by SaCas9 Endonuclease of HERV-Kenv, a Retroviral Gene with Oncogenic and Neuropathogenic Potential, Inhibits Molecules Involved in Cancer and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
- Authors
Ibba, Gabriele; Piu, Claudia; Uleri, Elena; Serra, Caterina; Dolei, Antonina
- Abstract
The human endogenous retrovirus (HERV)-K, human mouse mammary tumor virus like-2 (HML-2) subgroup of HERVs is activated in several tumors and has been related to prostate cancer progression and motor neuron diseases. The cellular splicing factor 2/alternative splicing factor (SF2/ASF) is a positive regulator of gene expression, coded by a potent proto-oncogene, amplified, and abnormally expressed in tumors. TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) is a DNA/RNA-binding protein, negative regulator of alternative splicing, known for causing neurodegeneration, and with complex roles in oncogenesis. We used the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 technology, with the Cas9 system from <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> (SaCas9), to disrupt the HERV-K(HML-2)<italic>env</italic> gene, and evaluated the effects on cultured cells. The tool was tested on human prostate cancer LNCaP cells, whose HERV-K<italic>env</italic> transcription profile is known. It caused HERV-K(HML-2)<italic>env</italic> disruption (the first reported of a HERV gene), as evaluated by DNA sequencing, and inhibition of <italic>env</italic> transcripts and proteins. The HERV-K(HML-2)<italic>env</italic> disruption was found to interfere with important regulators of cell expression and proliferation, involved in manaling, RNA-binding, and alternative splicing, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), SF2/ASF, and TDP-43. These novel findings suggest that HERV-K is not an innocent bystander, they reinforce its links to oncogenesis and motor neuron diseases, and they open potential innovative therapeutic options.
- Subjects
ENDONUCLEASES; RETROVIRUS diseases; CANCER; AMYOTROPHIC lateral sclerosis; MOTOR neuron diseases
- Publication
Viruses (1999-4915), 2018, Vol 10, Issue 8, p412
- ISSN
1999-4915
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/v10080412