Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 43b, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
Department of Clinical, Surgical and Experimental Sciences, University of Sassari, Viale San Pietro 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
Viruses. 2021 Nov 18;13(11):2301. doi: 10.3390/v13112301.
The human endogenous retrovirus-K (HERV-K) and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) have been associated with the pathophysiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Given these findings, we investigated the humoral response against HERV-K envelope surface (env-su) glycoprotein antigens and TDP-43 in the plasma of ALS patients and healthy controls (HCs). The measured levels of Abs against the different epitopes' fragments were significantly elevated in ALS patients, both in long-survivor (LS) and newly diagnosed (ND) patients, compared to HCs. We observed a positive correlation between HERV-K and TDP-43 antibodies (Abs) levels, which seemed to strengthen with disease progression, that was not found in HCs. The TDP-43 and HERV-K epitopes identified in this study are highly immunogenic and recognized by the humoral response of ALS patients. Increased circulating levels of Abs directed against specific HERV-K- and TDP-43-derived epitopes could serve as possible biomarkers.
人类内源性逆转录病毒-K（HERV-K）和 TAR DNA 结合蛋白 43（TDP-43）与肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）的病理生理学有关。鉴于这些发现，我们研究了 ALS 患者和健康对照（HCs）血浆中针对 HERV-K 包膜表面（env-su）糖蛋白抗原和 TDP-43 的体液反应。与 HCs 相比，ALS 患者，包括长生存期（LS）和新诊断（ND）患者，针对不同表位片段的 Abs 水平显著升高。我们观察到 HERV-K 和 TDP-43 抗体（Abs）水平之间存在正相关，这种相关性似乎随着疾病的进展而增强，而在 HCs 中则没有发现这种相关性。本研究中鉴定的 TDP-43 和 HERV-K 表位具有高度免疫原性，可被 ALS 患者的体液反应识别。针对特定 HERV-K 和 TDP-43 衍生表位的循环 Abs 水平升高可能作为潜在的生物标志物。
