The distribution of the endogenous retroviruses HERV-K113 and HERV-K115 in health and disease

Moyes, David L., Martin, Alex, Sawcer, Stephen, Temperton, Nigel, Worthington, Jane, Griffiths, David J. and Venables, Patrick J. (2005) The distribution of the endogenous retroviruses HERV-K113 and HERV-K115 in health and disease. Genomics, 86 (3). pp. 337-341. ISSN 0888-7543

Abstract

The human endogenous retroviruses HERV-K113 and HERV-K115 are full-length proviruses but unusual in being found in only a proportion of the population. Here, we study the geographic distribution of these HERVs and their prevalence in autoimmune disease. The frequency of HERV-K113 and HERV-K115 in 174 individuals from Africa was 21.8 and 34.1%, respectively, compared to 4.16 and 1% in 96 people in the United Kingdom ( p < 0.001). Prevalence in Yemen (n = 56) was 8 and 7.14% and in Papua New Guinea (n = 54) 0% for both.
In the United Kingdom, HERV-K113 was found in 15.6% of 96 Sjo¨ gren’s syndrome patients ( p < 0.01) and 11.9% of 109 multiple sclerosis patients ( p < 0.05). No increase in prevalence in either disease was seen with HERV-K115. These data suggest that both viruses are recently integrated and/or under positive evolutionary selection pressure. HERV-K113 may be a genetic risk factor for some types of autoimmunity.

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