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The contribution of HERV‐E clone 4‐1 and other HERV‐E members to the pathogenesis of rheumatic autoimmune diseases
Author(s) -
Talotta Rossella,
Atzeni Fabiola,
Laska Magdalena Janina
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/apm.13039
Subject(s) - pathogenesis , clone (java method) , immunology , medicine , biology , genetics , gene
Human endogenous retroviruses (HERV)‐E consist of a family of more than 1300 elements, stably integrated in the human genome. Some of them are full‐length proviruses able to synthesize the viral proteins gag, pol and env. The reactivation of HERV‐E elements has been associated to placentation, cancer and autoimmunity. In this narrative review, we aimed to report the status of the art concerning the involvement of HERV‐E in rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Following a research on PubMed database, a total of 87 articles were selected. The highest amount of evidence derives from studies on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), whereas a few to no data are available on other immune‐mediated diseases. In SLE, the hyper‐expression of HERV‐E clone 4‐1 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells or differentiated lymphocytes has been associated with disease activity and autoantibody production. It is likely that HERV‐E take part to the pathogenesis of rheumatic autoimmune diseases but additional research is needed.