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 |
| |
Authors: | Blond J L Lavillette D Cheynet V Bouton O Oriol G Chapel-Fernandes S Mandrand B Mallet F Cosset F L |
| |
Institution: | Unité Mixte 103 CNRS-bioMérieux, INSERM U412, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. |
| |
Abstract: | A new human endogenous retrovirus (HERV) family, termed HERV-W, was recently described (J.-L. Blond, F. Besème, L. Duret, O. Bouton, F. Bedin, H. Perron, B. Mandrand, and F. Mallet, J. Virol. 73:1175-1185, 1999). HERV-W mRNAs were found to be specifically expressed in placenta cells, and an env cDNA containing a complete open reading frame was recovered. In cell-cell fusion assays, we demonstrate here that the product of the HERV-W env gene is a highly fusogenic membrane glycoprotein. Transfection of an HERV-W Env expression vector in a panel of cell lines derived from different species resulted in formation of syncytia in primate and pig cells upon interaction with the type D mammalian retrovirus receptor. Moreover, envelope glycoproteins encoded by HERV-W were specifically detected in placenta cells, suggesting that they may play a physiological role during pregnancy and placenta formation. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed 等数据库收录! |
|