Viral Hormones: Expanding Dimensions in Endocrinology

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Endocrinology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Viruses employ mimicry to manipulate host functions, typically targeting growth factors or immune proteins.
• Previous viral mimicry examples were limited, with few known instances of mimicking host hormones.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential for viruses to encode peptides mimicking human hormones and regulatory proteins.
• To characterize viral insulin/IGF-1-like peptides (VILPs) and their functional interactions with host systems.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of viral DNA/RNA sequences.
• Characterization of VILPs, including receptor binding assays and functional studies (e.g., glucose uptake, DNA synthesis).
• Analysis of viral sequences in the human enteric virome.

Main Results:

• Identification of 16 potential viral peptide hormone mimics, including VILPs in Iridoviridae.
• VILPs bind to human insulin/IGF-1 receptors, activate signaling pathways, and stimulate glucose uptake and DNA synthesis.
• Homologous sequences to other peptide hormones and cytokines found in viral genomes; VILP-carrying viruses detected in the human gut.

Conclusions:

• Viruses can mimic host endocrine systems, introducing the concept of microbial hormones.
• These findings offer new insights into viral pathogenesis, hormone evolution, and the role of microbial hormones in health and disease.