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Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 6386-6393, Vol. 74, No. 14
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Functional Analysis of the env Open Reading Frame in Human Endogenous Retrovirus IDDMK1,222 Encoding Superantigen Activity

Matthias Lapatschek,1 Susanne Dürr,1 Roswitha Löwer,2 Christine Magin,2 Hermann Wagner,1 and Thomas Miethke1,*

Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technical University of Munich, 81675 Munich,1 and Paul Ehrlich Institute, 63225 Langen,2 Germany

Received 5 January 2000/Accepted 26 April 2000

Mice harbor a family of endogenous retroviruses, the mouse mammary tumor viruses (MMTV), which encode superantigens. These superantigens are responsible for the deletion of T cells expressing certain Vbeta chains of the T-cell receptor in the thymus. Human T cells are able to recognize MMTV-encoded superantigens presented by human major histocompatibility complex class II-positive cells. Owing to this and to the similarity of the human and murine immune systems, it was speculated that human endogenous retroviruses might also code for superantigens. Recently, it was reported that a proviral clone (IDDMK1,222) of the human endogenous retrovirus family HTDV/HERV-K encodes a superantigen. The putative superantigen gene was located within the env region of the virus. Stimulated by these findings, we amplified by PCR and cloned into eucaryotic expression vectors open reading frames (ORFs) which were identical or very similar to IDDMK1,222. When we transfected these vectors into A20 cells, a murine B-cell lymphoma, we were able to demonstrate mRNA expression and protein production. However, we did not find any evidence that the ORF stimulated human or murine T cells in a Vbeta -specific fashion, the most prominent feature of superantigens.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, Technical University of Munich, Trogerstr. 9, 81675 Munich, Germany. Phone: 49/89/4140-4187. Fax: 49/89/4140-4868. E-mail: Thomas.Miethke{at}lrz.tu-muenchen.de.

Journal of Virology, July 2000, p. 6386-6393, Vol. 74, No. 14
0022-538X/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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