Rutherford, H.A., Clarke, A., Chambers, E.V. et al. (7 more authors) (2022) A zebrafish reporter line reveals immune and neuronal expression of endogenous retrovirus. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 15 (4). dmm048921. ISSN 1754-8403
Abstract
Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are fossils left in our genome from retrovirus infections of the past. Their sequences are part of every vertebrate genome and their random integrations are thought to have contributed to evolution. Although ERVs are mainly kept silenced by the host genome, they are found activated in multiple disease states such as auto-inflammatory disorders and neurological diseases. What makes defining their role in health and diseases challenging is the numerous copies in mammalian genomes and the lack of tools to study them. In this study, we identified 8 copies of the zebrafish endogenous retrovirus (zferv). We created and characterised the first in vivo ERV reporter line in any species. Using a combination of live imaging, flow cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing, we mapped zferv expression to early T cells and neurons. Thus, this new tool identified tissues expressing ERV in zebrafish, highlighting a potential role of ERV during brain development and strengthening the hypothesis that ERV play a role in immunity and neurological diseases. This transgenic line is therefore a suitable tool to study the function of ERV in health and diseases.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed. |
Keywords: | zferv; Endogenous retrovirus; LTR; Reporter line; Retroelement; Zebrafish |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Medical Research Council MR/M004864/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 16 Feb 2022 08:32 |
Last Modified: | 03 Feb 2023 16:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Company of Biologists |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1242/dmm.048921 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:183659 |