Molecular Analysis of Endogenous Retrovirus HRES-1: Identification of Frameshift Mutations in Region Encoding Putative 28-kDa Autoantigen

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 283; no. 2; pp. 437 - 444
• Main Authors: Lefranc, D., Dubucquoi, S., Almeras, L., De Seze, J., Tourvieille, B., Dussart, P., Aubert, J-P., Vermersch, P., Prin, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 04.05.2001
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Autoantigens - chemistry; Autoantigens - genetics; Autoimmune Diseases - genetics; Autoimmune Diseases - immunology; Autoimmune Diseases - virology; Base Sequence; Biomarkers; Case-Control Studies; DNA - genetics; DNA Primers - genetics; Endogenous Retroviruses - genetics; Endogenous Retroviruses - immunology; Endogenous Retroviruses - pathogenicity; Frameshift Mutation; gag gene; Genes, gag; HRES-1 protein; Human endogenous retrovirus; Human T-lymphotropic virus; Human T-lymphotropic virus 1; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Weight; Open Reading Frames; p19 protein; Retrovirus; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Terminal Repeat Sequences
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1006/bbrc.2001.4814

A possible involvement of HTLV-1-related endogenous sequence 1 (HRES-1) in autoimmune diseases has been recently reported. In primate cells, PCRs and RT-PCRs using specific primers reveal the presence and the transcription of gag-related sequences. However antisera generated against selected HRES-1 peptides failed to detect a 28-kDa protein deduced from the translated gag ORF and described previously. Such discordant results led us to perform DNA cloning and sequencing of LTR- and gag-related nucleotidic fragments. Repeated sequence analyses on distinct samples revealed frameshift mutations in the gag and LTR ORFs. Our sequence analyses detected a stop codon in the gag-related ORF, which is inconsistent with the expression of a 28-kDa protein. Instead of the two ORFs previously found, our gag-related region contained three ORFs. One of them demonstrated higher nucleotidic and peptidic homologies with the p19 gag of HTLV-I. However, the molecular analyses of our new sequence did not show evidence of potent translation capacities.