Abstract
Background. Interferon is a marker of host antiviral immunity, which is disordered in COVID-19 patients. ERV can affect the secretion of interferon through the cGAS-STING pathway. In this study, we explored whether IFN-I and HERV-K (HML-2) were activated in COVID-19 patients and whether there was an interaction between them. Methods. We collected blood samples from COVID-19 patients and healthy controls. We first detected the expression of HERV-K (HML-2) gag , env , and pol genes and IFN-I-related genes between patients and healthy people by qPCR, synchronously detected VERO cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. Then, the chromosome distributions of highly expressed HERV-K (HML-2) gag , env , and pol genes were mapped by the next-generation sequencing results, and GO analysis was performed on the related genes. Results. We found that the HERV-K (HML-2) gag , env , and pol genes were highly expressed in COVID-19 patients and VERO cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. The interferon-related genes IFNB1 , ISG15, and IFIT1 were also activated in COVID-19 patients, and GO analysis showed that HERV-K (HML-2) can regulate the secretion of interferon. Conclusions. The high expression of HERV-K (HML-2) might activate the increase of interferon in COVID-19 patients, proving that HERV-K does not only play a negative role in the human body.
Keywords: COVID-19; Gene Ontology; HERV-K (HML-2); SARS-CoV-2; interferon.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Gene ontology, interferon., HERV-K (HML-2), 【초록키워드】 interferon, Gene ontology, qPCR, Next-generation sequencing, cGAS, Patient, pathway, IFN-I, antiviral immunity, distribution, expression, STING, COVID-19 patients, marker, Interaction, ISG15, regulate, Vero, COVID-19 patient, human body, chromosome, Blood samples, secretion, blood sample, IFIT1, Vero cells, healthy controls, GO analysis, HERV, HERV-K, IFNB1, Host, Affect, Genes, Cell, HML-2, collected, healthy, was performed, activated, expressed, activate, mapped, infected with SARS-CoV-2,