Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
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Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer

Published on: November 2, 2013

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Staring at the onco-exaptation: the two-faced medley of an ancient retrovirus, HERVH

Manvendra Singh1,2, Aleksandra M Kondraskhina2, Laurence D Hurst3

  • 1Max Planck Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, City Campus, Göttingen, Germany.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation
|July 18, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Chimeric calbindin 1 (CALB1) transcripts, driven by a human endogenous retrovirus (HERVH), counteract tumor-promoting inflammation in lung cancer. This HERVH-CALB1 mechanism improves patient survival by preventing senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • Cell senescence normally suppresses tumors but can paradoxically promote cancer via the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP).
  • The regulatory mechanisms controlling SASP and its impact on tumor progression remain incompletely understood.
  • Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for developing novel cancer therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of chimeric calbindin 1 (CALB1) transcripts in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC).
  • To elucidate the function of human endogenous retrovirus subfamily H (HERVH)-driven CALB1 isoforms in cancer.
  • To determine the impact of HERVH-CALB1 on SASP and patient outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of HERVH-driven chimeric CALB1 transcripts in LUSC.
  • Investigation of HERVH-CALB1's effect on cellular senescence and SASP induction.
  • Correlation of HERVH-CALB1 expression with patient survival data.

Main Results:

  • HERVH elements drive alternative calbindin 1 (CALB1) isoforms (HERVH-CALB1) in LUSC.
  • HERVH-CALB1 prevents cancer cell senescence and the associated pro-inflammatory SASP.
  • Increased HERVH-CALB1 expression correlates with improved patient survival in LUSC.

Conclusions:

  • HERVH-driven chimeric CALB1 transcripts represent a novel mechanism to suppress tumor-promoting inflammation.
  • HERVH-CALB1 acts as a tumor suppressor by counteracting SASP in LUSC.
  • These findings highlight the potential therapeutic benefits of targeting HERVH-driven transcripts in cancer treatment.

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