Human endogenous retrovirus HERV-W family: Chromosomal localization, identification, and phylogeny

A new human endogenous retroviral family (HERV-W) has been described that is related to multiple sclerosis-associated retrovirus sequences that have been identified in particles recovered from monocyte cultures from patients with multiple sclerosis. Using the polymerase chain reaction approach with a human monochromosomal somatic cell hybrid DNA panel, 15 env fragments of the HERV-W family from chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 17, 20, and X were identified and analyzed. These env fragments showed a high degree of nucleotide sequence similarity (91.6-99.6%) to that of HERV-W. Translation of the env fragments showed no frameshift and termination codons by deletion/insertion or point mutation in some clones (W-1-1, W-3-8, W-4-1, W-7-1, W-14-1, W-17-5, W-20-9, and W-X-3). Phylogenetic analysis of the HERV-W family indicates that the HERV-W env fragments divided into five groups through evolutionary divergence in the primate genome. In group IV, a clone (W-12-2) on chromosome 12 shared 100% sequence identity with a clone (W-17-5) on chromosome 17, suggesting either a retrotransposition or a chromosomal translocation in the last 2 to 5 million years.