Background: Human endogenous retrovirus (HERVs) constitute approximately 8% of the human genome. Induction of HERV transcription is possible under certain circumstances, and may have a possible role in some pathological conditions.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate HERV-K and -W pol gene expression in kidney transplant recipients and to investigate the possible relationship between HERVs gene expression and CMV infection in these patients.
Study design: Thirty-three samples of kidney transplant patients and twenty healthy blood donors were used to analyze, HERV-K and -W pol gene RNA expression by relative quantitative relative Real-Time PCR.
Result: We demonstrated that HERVs pol gene expression levels were higher in kidney transplant recipients than in healthy subjects. Moreover, HERV-K and -W pol gene expression was significantly higher in the group of kidney transplant recipients with high CMV viral load than in the groups with no or moderate CMV viral load.
Conclusion: Our data suggest that CMV may facilitate in vivo HERV activation.
Keywords: Biomarker; Cancer; Cytomegalovirus; HERV; Retrovirus; Transplant recipient.
Published by Elsevier B.V.