Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Quantification of Autoreactive Antibodies in Mice upon Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
Published on: December 1, 2023
Endogenous retroviruses and multiple sclerosis-new pieces to the puzzle
Kari K Nissen1, Magdalena J Laska, Bettina Hansen
1Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Wilhelm Meyers Allé 4, DK-8000, Aarhus, C, Denmark. nexo@hum-gen.au.dk.
Abstract:
The possibility that retroviruses play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been considered; accumulating findings suggest this to be most likely in the form of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs). A genetic test series of fifty endogenous retroviral loci for association with MS in Danes showed SNP markers near a specific endogenous retroviral locus, HERV-Fc1 located on the X-chromosome, to be positive. Bout Onset MS was associated with the HERV-Fc1 locus, while a rarer form, Primary Progressive MS, was not. Moreover, HERV-Fc1 Gag RNA in plasma was increased 4-fold in patients with recent history of attacks, relative to patients in a stable state and to healthy controls.Finally, genetic variations in restriction genes for retroviruses influence the risk of MS, providing further support for a role of retroviral elements in disease.We speculate that endogenous retroviruses may activate the innate immune system in a variety of ways, involving the host proteins, TRIMs, TLRs, TREXs and STING. Observations in HIV-positive patients suggest that antiretroviral drugs can curb MS. Thus, these new findings regarding the etiology and pathogenesis of MS, suggest alternative ways to challenge autoimmune diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Multiple Sclerosis l: Introduction
Retroviruses
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Mechanisms of Retrovirus-induced Cancers
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
Retrovirus Life Cycles

