title: Association between the endogenous retrovirus HRES-1 and multiple sclerosis in the United Kingdom--evidence of genetically different disease subsets?
abstract: In the present study we determined the frequencies of four haplotypes of the human T-cell lymphotropic virus-related endogenous sequence, HRES-1, in 110 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and 100 healthy control subjects from the United Kingdom. We found evidence of an association between this endogenous retrovirus and MS (p < 0.01), in particular reflecting an increased frequency of HRES-1 haplotype 1 in the group of patients. There was no significant difference in the distribution of HRES-1 haplotypes between relapsing-remitting MS and the primary progressive form of the disease. The odds ratio for HRES-1 haplotype 1 and MS did not differ significantly between individuals positive for HLA-DR2 and DR2-negative individuals. Comparison of the observations from the present study with previous results implicated HRES-1 as a marker of genetic heterogeneity in MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University, PO Box 260, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clausen
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018450:Disease Progression; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005787:Gene Frequency; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D015802:HLA-DR2 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011533:Proviruses / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D005819:Genetic Markers; D015802:HLA-DR2 Antigen