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Increase in Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV‐K (HML‐2) Viral Load in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis
Author(s) -
Reynier F.,
Verjat T.,
Turrel F.,
Imbert P. E.,
Marotte H.,
Mougin B.,
Miossec P.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2009.02271.x
Subject(s) - rheumatoid arthritis , synovial fluid , viral load , medicine , osteoarthritis , arthritis , immunology , virus , virology , pathology , alternative medicine
To study the viral loads of human endogenous retrovirus HERV‐K (HML‐2) type 1 and type 2 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we measured the viral loads of HERV‐K (HML‐2) type 1 and type 2 using nucleic acid sequence‐based amplification (NASBA) technology. We analyzed plasma samples from RA patients ( n = 79) and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 46) and synovial fluid samples from RA ( n = 10) and osteoarthritis (OA, n = 10) patients. HERV‐K type 1 and type 2 viruses were detected and quantified for the majority of plasma and synovial fluid samples from RA patients. HERV‐K type 1 and type 2 viral loads were significantly elevated in RA patients compared with HV in plasma ( P < 0.0001) and from RA patients compared with OA patients in synovial fluid (type 1: P = 0.0007; type 2: P = 0.023). Moreover, an association was observed between the HERV‐K type 1 viral load in plasma and the disease activity in RA patients (RA patients with low activity versus high activity P = 0.0129; RA patients with intermediate activity versus high activity P = 0.037). Our findings showed that HERV‐K (HML‐2) viral load can be detected in plasma samples from RA patients, with higher levels observed for those with active disease. There was an association of HERV‐K type 1 levels with the disease activity.