[A new KIAA1245 gene family with or without HERV-K LTRs in their introns].

A transcript containing the long terminal repeat (LTR) and the sequence homologous to the KIAA1245 mRNA fragment were revealed among the transcribed LTRs of human endogenous viruses of the K family in normal and tumor tissues. Ten other sequences with a high level of homology to the KIAA1245 mRNA were found in the GenBank. The intron-exon structures were determined for all the sequences, and their exon sequences were compared. The comparison showed that they differ both in the extent of the exon homology and in the presence or absence of the HERV-K LTR in the third intron. The revealed sequences form a new gene family that comprises at least four subfamilies. Two of these subfamilies have the LTR, and the other two do not. We showed by PCR that the LTR was integrated into the introns after the divergence of the orangutan evolutionary branch from other hominoids but before the divergence of the gorilla branch, i.e., 8-13 million years ago. The English version of the paper: Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, 2002, vol. 28, no. 4; see also http://www.maik.ru.