Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) have been implicated in human physiology and in human pathology.Abetter knowledge\nof the retroviral transcriptional activity in the general population and during the life span would greatly help the debate on its\npathologic potential.Thetranscriptional activity of fourHERVfamilies (H,K,W, and E)was assessed, by qualitative and quantitative\nPCR, in PBMCs from 261 individuals aged from 1 to 80 years. Our results show that HERV-H, HERV-K, and HERV-W, but not\nHERV-E, are transcriptionally active in the test population already in the early childhood. In addition, the transcriptional levels\nof HERV-H, HERV-K, and HERV-W change significantly during the life span, albeit with distinct patterns. Our results, reinforce\nthe hypothesis of a physiological correlation between HERVs activity and the different stages of life in humans. Studies aiming at\nidentifying the factors, which are responsible for these changes during the individual�s life, are still needed. Although the observed\nphenomena are presumably subjected to great variability, the basal transcriptional activity of each individual, also depending on\nthe different ages of life, must be carefully considered in all the studies involving HERVs as causative agents of disease
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