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Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
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Published on: November 2, 2013

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Endogenous Retroelements and the Viral Mimicry Response in Cancer Therapy and Cellular Homeostasis

Raymond Chen1,2, Charles A Ishak2, Daniel D De Carvalho3,2

  • 1Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cancer Discovery
|October 15, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Cancer epigenetics creates vulnerabilities targeted by epigenetic therapies. Viral mimicry, triggered by endogenous nucleic acids, combines epigenetic and cancer immunotherapies, offering new treatment strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Epigenetics
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Cancer epigenomes present unique vulnerabilities exploitable via epigenetic drug inhibition.
  • Epigenetic therapies intersect with cancer immunotherapies through viral mimicry, a state of antiviral response.
  • Viral mimicry is induced by endogenous nucleic acids from retrotransposons.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review viral mimicry-inducing approaches and cancer priming features.
  • To explore the significance of viral mimicry in cancer therapy.
  • To identify synergistic treatment combinations involving viral mimicry.

Main Methods:

  • Review of recent literature on viral mimicry and epigenetic therapies.
  • Analysis of cytosolic double-strand RNA (dsRNA) as a cancer vulnerability.
  • Exploration of ADAR1-mediated dsRNA stress responses.

Main Results:

  • Elevated cytosolic dsRNA is a cancer-specific vulnerability targeted by viral mimicry therapies.
  • Viral mimicry therapies can increase dsRNA levels, inducing antiviral signaling.
  • Synergistic combinations include epigenetic drugs, BCL2 and ADAR1 inhibition, and immune checkpoint blockade.

Conclusions:

  • Understanding viral mimicry and tolerance mechanisms enhances cancer treatment strategies.
  • Viral mimicry offers a pathway for combining epigenetic and immunotherapies.
  • Further research into viral mimicry tolerance may optimize conventional cancer therapies.

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