The search for a cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has remained elusive. A new category of pathogenic components, normally dormant within human genomes, has been identified: Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs). They represent approximately 8% of the human genome and environmental factors have reproducibly been shown to trigger their expression. The resulting production of envelope proteins from HERV-W and HERV-K appear to engage pathophysiological pathways leading to the pathognomonic features of MS and ALS, respectively. These pathogenic HERV elements may thus provide a missing link for the complete understanding of these complex diseases. Moreover, their neutralization may represent a promising strategy to establish novel and more powerful therapeutic approaches.

Human endogenous retroviruses and neurological diseases / Küry, Patrick; Nath, Avindra; Créange, Alain; Dolei, Antonina; Marche, Patrice; Gold, Julian; Giovannoni, Gavin; Hartung, Hans-Peter; Perron, Hervé. - In: TRENDS IN MOLECULAR MEDICINE. - ISSN 1471-4914. - march 2018:published online(2018), pp. 1-16. [10.1016/j.molmed.2018.02.007]

Human endogenous retroviruses and neurological diseases.

Antonina Dolei;
2018-01-01

Abstract

The search for a cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) has remained elusive. A new category of pathogenic components, normally dormant within human genomes, has been identified: Human Endogenous Retroviruses (HERVs). They represent approximately 8% of the human genome and environmental factors have reproducibly been shown to trigger their expression. The resulting production of envelope proteins from HERV-W and HERV-K appear to engage pathophysiological pathways leading to the pathognomonic features of MS and ALS, respectively. These pathogenic HERV elements may thus provide a missing link for the complete understanding of these complex diseases. Moreover, their neutralization may represent a promising strategy to establish novel and more powerful therapeutic approaches.
2018
Human endogenous retroviruses and neurological diseases / Küry, Patrick; Nath, Avindra; Créange, Alain; Dolei, Antonina; Marche, Patrice; Gold, Julian; Giovannoni, Gavin; Hartung, Hans-Peter; Perron, Hervé. - In: TRENDS IN MOLECULAR MEDICINE. - ISSN 1471-4914. - march 2018:published online(2018), pp. 1-16. [10.1016/j.molmed.2018.02.007]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/203059
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