Aberrant Expression of Human Endogenous Retroviruses andin Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa.

Source: PubMed, NCBI / U.S. National Library of Medicine

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) represent 8% of our genome. They are remnants of ancient infections of germinal cells. HERVs are no longer infectious, but their enhanced expression is implicated in several diseases, including neuropsychiatric disorders. Their transcription is regulated byand, which are involved in the regulation of epigenetic processes, in neural cell differentiation, and brain inflammation. We explored the expressions of HERVs and/in adolescents affected by anorexia nervosa (AN). Through real-time PCR, we assessed the transcription levels ofgenes of HERV-H, -K, and -W, ofgenes of Syncytin 1 (SYN1), Syncytin 2 (SYN2), and of HERV-W, and ofandin whole blood of 37 adolescents with AN and in healthy controls (HCs) of comparable age.,andtranscriptional levels were significantly higher in adolescents with AN as compared with HCs, while HERV-W-and -were downregulated in the former. No differences were observed for SYN1, SYN2, andbetween the two groups. The observed expression pattern of HERVs is specific for AN as compared to other neuropsychiatric disorders. These aberrant expressions suggest a potential role of retroviral elements in the pathophysiology of AN, opening the way for innovative diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.