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Updated: Jun 22, 2025

Analyzing the Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model Induced by Adeno-associated Viral Vectors Encoding Human α-Synuclein
Published on: July 29, 2022
Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Gabrielle L Adler1,2, Kelvin Le1,2, YuHong Fu1,2
1Brain and Mind Centre, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia.
Abstract:
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are DNA transposable elements that have integrated into the human genome via an ancestral germline infection. The potential importance of HERVs is underscored by the fact that they comprise approximately 8% of the human genome. HERVs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, a group of CNS diseases characterized by a progressive loss of structure and function of neurons, resulting in cell death and multiple physiological dysfunctions. Much evidence indicates that HERVs are initiators or drivers of neurodegenerative processes in multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and clinical trials have been designed to target HERVs. In recent years, the role of HERVs has been explored in other major neurodegenerative diseases, including frontotemporal dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, with some interesting discoveries. This review summarizes and evaluates the past and current research on HERVs in neurodegenerative diseases. It discusses the potential role of HERVs in disease manifestation and neurodegeneration. It critically reviews antiretroviral strategies used in the therapeutic intervention of neurodegenerative diseases.
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