Immunogenicity of the Envelope Surface Unit of Human Endogenous Retrovirus K18 in Mice.
Victoria IlseRebekka ScholzMichael WermannMarcel NaumannMartin Sebastian StaegeSteffen RoßnerHolger CynisPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2022)
The triggers for the development of multiple sclerosis (MS) have not been fully understood to date. One hypothesis proposes a viral etiology. Interestingly, viral proteins from human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) may play a role in the pathogenesis of MS. Allelic variants of the HERV-K18 env gene represent a genetic risk factor for MS, and the envelope protein is considered to be an Epstein-Barr virus-trans-activated superantigen. To further specify a possible role for HERV-K18 in MS, the present study examined the immunogenicity of the purified surface unit (SU). HERV-K18(SU) induced envelope-specific plasma IgG in immunized mice and triggered proliferation of T cells isolated from these mice. It did not trigger phenotypic changes in a mouse model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of HERV-K18 interaction with immune system regulators in more detail.
Keyphrases
- multiple sclerosis
- epstein barr virus
- mass spectrometry
- ms ms
- endothelial cells
- high fat diet induced
- copy number
- mouse model
- sars cov
- high glucose
- diffuse large b cell lymphoma
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- white matter
- genome wide
- signaling pathway
- pluripotent stem cells
- wild type
- transcription factor
- gene expression
- oxidative stress
- dna methylation
- protein protein