title: The etiology of multiple sclerosis: genetic evidence for the involvement of the human endogenous retrovirus HERV-Fc1.
abstract: We have investigated the role of human endogenous retroviruses in multiple sclerosis by analyzing the DNA of patients and controls in 4 cohorts for associations between multiple sclerosis and polymorphisms near viral restriction genes or near endogenous retroviral loci with one or more intact or almost-intact genes. We found that SNPs in the gene TRIM5 were inversely correlated with disease. Conversely, SNPs around one retroviral locus, HERV-Fc1, showed a highly significant association with disease. The latter association was limited to a narrow region that contains no other known genes. We conclude that HERV-Fc1 and TRIM5 play a role in the etiology of multiple sclerosis. If these results are confirmed, they point to new modes of treatment for multiple sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Aarhus, Aarhus C, Denmark. nexo@humgen.au.dk
authors.forename: Bjørn A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Nexø
authors.forename: Tove
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Jette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frederiksen
authors.forename: Anné
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Møller-Larsen
authors.forename: Annette B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Oturai
authors.forename: Palle
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villesen
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Kari K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.forename: Magdalena J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.forename: Trine S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bonnesen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hedemand
authors.forename: Tingting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xinjie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiuqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brudek
authors.forename: Romana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Maric
authors.forename: Helle B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Søndergaard
authors.forename: Finn
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sellebjerg
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Brusgaard
authors.forename: Anders L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kjeldbjerg
authors.forename: Henrik B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: Anders L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nyegaard
authors.forename: Thor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: Anders D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Børglum
authors.forename: Finn S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Pedersen
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology; D020077:Endogenous Retroviruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000821:virology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral