Human endogenous retrovirus K

Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) is a family of human endogenous retroviruses associated with malignant tumors of the testes. HERV-K is also found in apes and Old World monkeys.

In 1999 Barbulescu, et al. showed that, of ten HERV-K proviruses cloned, eight were unique to humans, while one was shared with chimpanzees and bonobos, and one with chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas.

In 2015 Grow et al. demonstrated that HERV-K is transcribed during embryogenesis from the eight cell stage up to the stem cell derivation. Furthermore, overexpression of the HERV-K accessory protein Rec increases IFITM1 levels on the cell surface and inhibits viral infection.