{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T18:44:53Z","timestamp":1791485093546,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":107,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,15]],"date-time":"2025-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744675200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union\u2014e. INS Ecosystem","award":["2022BP837R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022BP837R"]}]},{"name":"European Union\u2014e. INS Ecosystem","award":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"]}]},{"name":"Regione Autonoma Sardegna grant","award":["2022BP837R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022BP837R"]}]},{"name":"Regione Autonoma Sardegna grant","award":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"]}]},{"name":"PRIN 2022 n","award":["2022BP837R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022BP837R"]}]},{"name":"PRIN 2022 n","award":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"Ministero della Salute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2022BP837R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022BP837R"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003196","name":"Ministero della Salute","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNRR-MCNT1-2023-12376993"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003196","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vaccines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human Endogenous Retroviruses comprise approximately 8% of the human genome, serving as fragments of ancient retroviral infections. Although they are generally maintained in a silenced state by robust epigenetic mechanisms, specific HERV groups, particularly HERV-W and HERV-K, can become derepressed under specific pathological conditions, thereby contributing to the initiation and progression of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative processes. Preclinical studies and clinical trials, such as those investigating monoclonal antibodies, indicate that directly targeting these elements may offer a novel therapeutic strategy. In this review, we provide an overview of HERVs\u2032 biology, examine their role in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer\u2032s disease, and Parkinson\u2032s disease, and explore their therapeutic prospects, highlighting both the challenges and the potential future research directions needed to translate these approaches into clinical interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines13040415","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,15]],"date-time":"2025-04-15T09:41:11Z","timestamp":1744710071000},"page":"415","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":17,"title":["Human Endogenous Retroviruses as Novel Therapeutic Targets in Neurodegenerative Disorders"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8946-2679","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena Rita","family":"Simula","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Seyedesomaye","family":"Jasemi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0557-9467","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Davide","family":"Cossu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4901-4521","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milena","family":"Fais","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ilaria","family":"Cossu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vanna","family":"Chessa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASL Sassari, SC Anestesia Territoriale Cure Palliatiave, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mattia","family":"Canu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ASL Sassari, SC Anestesia Territoriale Cure Palliatiave, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0566-2049","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leonardo Antonio","family":"Sechi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Virology, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"},{"name":"Struttura Complessa Microbiologia e Virologia, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1007\/s10038-006-0370-0","article-title":"Ancient retroviral insertions among human populations","volume":"51","author":"Herrera","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. 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