Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Neurological Diseases.

Human Endogenous Retroviruses in Neurological Diseases.
Trends Mol Med. 2018 Mar 15;:
Authors: Küry P, Nath A, Créange A, Dolei A, Marche P, Gold J, Giovannoni G, Hartung HP, Perron H
Abstract
The causes of multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have long remained elusive. A new category of pathogenic components, normally dormant within human genomes, has been identified: human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). These represent ∼8% of the human genome, and environmental factors have reproducibly been shown to trigger their expression. The resulting production of envelope (Env) proteins from HERV-W and HERV-K appears to engage pathophysiological pathways leading to the pathognomonic features of MS and ALS, respectively. Pathogenic HERV elements may thus provide a missing link in understanding these complex diseases. Moreover, their neutralization may represent a promising strategy to establish novel and more powerful therapeutic approaches.
PMID: 29551251 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Trends in Molecular Medicine - March 15, 2018 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Küry P, Nath A, Créange A, Dolei A, Marche P, Gold J, Giovannoni G, Hartung HP, Perron H Tags: Trends Mol Med Source Type: research