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Schizophrenia research: HERVs reactivation by infections

natasa778

Senior Member
Messages
1,774
Molecular characteristics of Human Endogenous Retrovirus type-W in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder


The seroprevalence for Toxoplasma gondii yielded low but significant association with HERV-W transcriptional level in a subgroup of BD and SZ, suggesting a potential role in particular patients. A global hypothesis of mechanisms inducing such major psychoses is discussed, placing HERV-W at the crossroads between environmental, genetic and immunological factors. Thus, particular infections would act as activators of HERV-W elements in earliest life, resulting in the production of an HERV-W envelope protein, which then stimulates pro-inflammatory and neurotoxic cascades.