ERVH48-1 - Endogenous Retrovirus Group 48 Member 1, Envelope

Many different endogenous retrovirus families are expressed in normal placental tissue at high levels, suggesting that endogenous retroviruses are functionally important in reproduction. This gene is part of an endogenous retrovirus provirus that has placenta specific expression. The protein encoded has the characteristics of a retroviral envelope protein but is truncated and lacks the transmembrane domain. The protein inhibits cell fusion by competing with syncytin-1 for binding to a cell receptor. [provided by RefSeq, May 2015]