[Human genome-specific HERV-K intron LTR genes have a random orientation relative to the direction of transcription, and, possibly, participated in antisense gene expression regulation].

A consensus nucleotide sequence of long terminal repeats (LTRs) of endogenous human-specific retroviruses of the K family (HERV-K) was constructed and used for the genome-wide search for homologies in international databases. There were revealed 142 LTRs, 12 of which were localized in introns of unique human genes. It was found for the first time that ten intron LTRs are absent in the orthologic loci of the chimpanzee genome and the orientation of nine of them is opposite to the transcription direction of the corresponding human genes. A hypothesis was propounded that the found LTRs affect the gene expression by initiation of the antisense RNA synthesis.