Expression of human endogenous retroviruses in pemphigus vulgaris patients

Pemphigus is a severe, potentially life-threatening autoimmune blistering mucocutaneous disease which establishes with autoreactive IgG antibodies that target cellular adhesions, precisely extracellular domains of keratinocyte proteins. Several genetic and environmental elements are believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease. The extent to which the initiation and progress of this autoimmune blistering disease may be influenced by the expression of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) remains to be elucidated. In this study, we evaluated the expression of HERV groups (K, W, and H) in pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients in comparison to controls. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 24 PV patients and the corresponding age- and sex-matched healthy controls to extract total RNA for evaluation of HERV-K (HML-2), HERV-W, and HERV-H, env gene expression profile by qPCR. The mRNA expression level of HERV-K, HERV-W, and HERV-H were significantly upregulated in PV patients in comparison to healthy controls (P < 0.0001). The difference in expression of studied HERVs groups between men and women was no significant (P > 0.05). Although rituximab taking patients had a decreased expression level of studied HERVs, the results were not significant (P > 0.05). According to our obtained data, HERVs expression could be measured as a possible diagnostic tool for detection of PV and monitoring of the treatment.