Authors:
Wenxue Li, Myoung-Hwa Lee, Lisa Henderson, Richa Tyagi, Muzna Bachani, Joseph Steiner, Emilie Campanac, Dax A. Hoffman, Gloria von Geldern, Kory Johnson, Dragan Maric, H. Douglas Morris, Margaret Lentz, Katherine Pak, Andrew Mammen, Lyle Ostrow, Jeffrey Rothstein, and Avindra Nath
Summary:
A large number of viral sequences are present in the human genome but remain silent. However, under pathological conditions, these viruses can get expressed. Li et al. now report that one such virus, human endogenous retrovirus-K, is expressed in neurons of a subpopulation of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. The envelope protein of this virus causes degeneration of neurons, and transgenic animals expressing this protein develop an ALS-like syndrome caused by nucleolar dysfunction in motor neurons. Reactivation of the virus is regulated by the transcription factor TDP-43. Thus, therapeutic approaches against this virus could potentially alter the course of the disease.
Source:
Science Translational Medicine; Vol. 7, Issue 307, 307ra153 (09/30/15)