ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025
The prefusion structure of the HERV-K (HML-2) Env spike complex.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Crystal structure of HERV-K envelope glycoprotein surface subunit.Journal of virology · 2026Article
- Plasma HERV-K envelopE RNA: a minimally invasive biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma detection and prognostic assessment in the context of conventional serum tumor markers.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The increased expression levels of human endogenous retrovirus-K envelope and human endogenous retrovirus-H polymerase transcripts in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma.Virology journal · 2025Article
- Human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) envelope structures in pre- and postfusion by cryo-EM.Science advances · 2025Article
- The prefusion structure of the HERV-K (HML-2) Env spike complex.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) is a retrovirus that got assimilated into the human genome in ancient times and has been inherited in our germline ever since. It enters cells using a class-I spike protein (Env) that mediates receptor recognition and membrane fusion. On top of having a biological role during development, HERV-K is activated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, various cancers, and other pathological conditions. Antibodies that target the HERV-K spike complex have therapeutic value, flagging the spike as a novel drug target. Here, we use cryo-EM to determine the trimeric structure of the HERV-K spike. The spike presents a distinct structure, which substantially differs from other class-I fusogens. Nevertheless, some general architectural features suggest a common origin with other retroviruses. The ability to structurally characterize the HERV-K spike may facilitate the development of antibody-based therapies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.