title: Comparative expression of human endogenous retrovirus-W genes in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis. Several related HERV-W sequences have been implicated in disease occurrence and progression; the MS retrovirus (MSRV) is one such element whose envelope protein has been recently demonstrated to be involved in innate immune pathogenesis. To distinguish MSRV from other HERV-W sequences we analyzed the relative abundance of individual HERV-W env sequences by employing a real-time PCR approach using specific oligonucleotide primers and tissue samples from MS and non-MS patients. Our analyses reveal that ERVWE1 env-encoding DNA and RNA exhibited increased detection (p < 0.05) and expression (p < 0.01) in the brains of MS patients. Similarly, ERVWE1 env transcripts were inducible in glial cells (p < 0.05), while comparable changes in MSRV abundance were not observed. These results indicate that individual HERVs might have distinct roles in MS pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Antony
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izad
authors.forename: Kenneth G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vodjgani
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mallet
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Power
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000821:virology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017931:DNA Primers; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D015752:Genes, env; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers