This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by de Parseval, N.
Right arrow Articles by Heidmann, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by de Parseval, N.
Right arrow Articles by Heidmann, T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Virol, April 1998, p. 3442-3445, Vol. 72, No. 4
0022-538X/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Physiological Knockout of the Envelope Gene of the Single-Copy ERV-3 Human Endogenous Retrovirus in a Fraction of the Caucasian Population

Nathalie de Parseval and Thierry Heidmann*

Unité des Rétrovirus Endogènes et Eléments Retroïdes des Eucaryotes Supérieurs, CNRS UMR 1573, Institut Gustave Roussy, 94805 Villejuif Cedex, France

Received 1 December 1997/Accepted 5 January 1998

ERV-3 is an evolutionarily conserved single-copy human endogenous retrovirus with a coding envelope gene potentially involved in important placental functions. We have investigated the sequence variability of this gene among 150 unrelated Caucasian individuals and found eight polymorphic sites. One of them corresponds to the introduction of a stop codon resulting in the production of a severely truncated ERV-3 envelope protein lacking both the fusion peptide and the immunosuppressive domain of the protein. The stop codon is observed in a homozygous state in approximately 1% of Caucasian individuals without evidence for counterselection, thus precluding the involvement of any essential function of the gene in placental implantation and development. This natural knockout provides a mean to investigate other potential roles for this otherwise highly conserved gene.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Unité des Rétrovirus Endogènes et Eléments Retroïdes des Eucaryotes Supérieurs, CNRS UMR 1573, Institut Gustave Roussy, 39, rue Camille Desmoulins, 94805 Villejuif Cedex, France. E-mail: heidmann{at}igr.fr.




This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Sugimoto, J., Schust, D. J. (2009). Review: Human Endogenous Retroviruses and the Placenta. Reproductive Sciences 16: 1023-1033 [Abstract]  
  • Ryan, F. P (2009). An alternative approach to medical genetics based on modern evolutionary biology. Part 2: retroviral symbiosis. JRSM 102: 324-331 [Full Text]  
  • Stoye, J. P. (2009). Proviral protein provides placental function. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 11827-11828 [Full Text]  
  • Mangeney, M., Renard, M., Schlecht-Louf, G., Bouallaga, I., Heidmann, O., Letzelter, C., Richaud, A., Ducos, B., Heidmann, T. (2007). Placental syncytins: Genetic disjunction between the fusogenic and immunosuppressive activity of retroviral envelope proteins. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 20534-20539 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Caceres, M., NISC Comparative Sequencing Program, , Thomas, J. W. (2006). The Gene of Retroviral Origin Syncytin 1 is Specific to Hominoids and is Inactive in Old World Monkeys. J Hered 97: 100-106 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Andersson, A.-C., Yun, Z., Sperber, G. O., Larsson, E., Blomberg, J. (2005). ERV3 and Related Sequences in Humans: Structure and RNA Expression. J. Virol. 79: 9270-9284 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ryan, F. P (2004). Human endogenous retroviruses in health and disease: a symbiotic perspective. JRSM 97: 560-565 [Full Text]  
  • Blaise, S., de Parseval, N., Benit, L., Heidmann, T. (2003). Genomewide screening for fusogenic human endogenous retrovirus envelopes identifies syncytin 2, a gene conserved on primate evolution. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 13013-13018 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • de Parseval, N., Lazar, V., Casella, J.-F., Benit, L., Heidmann, T. (2003). Survey of Human Genes of Retroviral Origin: Identification and Transcriptome of the Genes with Coding Capacity for Complete Envelope Proteins. J. Virol. 77: 10414-10422 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Frendo, J.-L., Olivier, D., Cheynet, V., Blond, J.-L., Bouton, O., Vidaud, M., Rabreau, M., Evain-Brion, D., Mallet, F. (2003). Direct Involvement of HERV-W Env Glycoprotein in Human Trophoblast Cell Fusion and Differentiation. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23: 3566-3574 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mangeney, M., de Parseval, N., Thomas, G., Heidmann, T. (2001). The full-length envelope of an HERV-H human endogenous retrovirus has immunosuppressive properties. J. Gen. Virol. 82: 2515-2518 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Czauderna, F., Fischer, N., Boller, K., Kurth, R., Tönjes, R. R. (2000). Establishment and Characterization of Molecular Clones of Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses Replicating on Human Cells. J. Virol. 74: 4028-4038 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Blond, J.-L., Lavillette, D., Cheynet, V., Bouton, O., Oriol, G., Chapel-Fernandes, S., Mandrand, B., Mallet, F., Cosset, F.-L. (2000). An Envelope Glycoprotein of the Human Endogenous Retrovirus HERV-W Is Expressed in the Human Placenta and Fuses Cells Expressing the Type D Mammalian Retrovirus Receptor. J. Virol. 74: 3321-3329 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»