Genome-wide expression profiles of endogenous retroviruses in lymphoid tissues and their biological properties.
Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) constitute approximately 8-10% of the human and mouse genome. Some autoimmune diseases are attributed to the altered expression of ERVs. In this study, we examined the ERV expression profiles in lymphoid tissues and analyzed their biological properties. Tissues (spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes [axillary, inguinal, and mesenteric]) from C57BL/6J mice were analyzed for differential murine ERV (MuERV) expression by RT-PCR examination of polymorphic U3 sequences. Each tissue had a unique profile of MuERV expression. A genomic map identifying 60 putative MuERVs was established using 22 unique U3s as probes and their biological properties (primer binding site, coding potential, transcription regulatory element, tropism, recombination event, and integration age) were characterized. Interestingly, 12 putative MuERVs retained intact coding potentials for all three polypeptides essential for virus assembly and replication. We suggest that MuERV expression is differentially regulated in conjunction with the transcriptional environment of individual lymphoid tissues.
Lee
Young-Kwan
YK
Burn Research, Shriners Hospitals for Children and Department of Surgery, University of California, Davis, 2425 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
Chew
Alex
A
Phan
Ho
H
Greenhalgh
David G
DG
Cho
Kiho
K
D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000821:virology; D001483:Base Sequence; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015894:Genome, Human; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000821:virology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D016662:Virus Integration
D017931:DNA Primers; D004279:DNA, Viral