ERC Consolidator Grant · 2022
Endogenous Human Herpesvirus: Germ line integration and effects on host cell and organism
Endogenous viruses present in the human genome control physiological processes, modulate aging, and can cause diseases. Intriguingly, a herpesvirus has entered the human germ line by integrating its genome into telomeres of germ cells and is present in about 80 million people. The virus, human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6), can reactivate from the integrated state, which is associated with a number of diseases. These include seizures, encephalitis, heart failure and graft rejection. We recently analysed the virus genomes present in hundreds of individuals with this inherited chromosomally-integrated HHV-6 (iciHHV-6). The data show that today’s endogenous virus sequences are quite diverse and…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.