• S Li, Z C Liu, S J Yin, Y T Chen, H L Yu, J Zeng, Q Zhang, and F Zhu.
• Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430071, PR China.
• Neuroscience. 2013 Sep 5;247:164-74.

AbstractNumerous studies have shown that human endogenous retrovirus W family (HERV-W) envelope gene (env) is related to various diseases but the underlying mechanism has remained poorly understood. Our previous study showed that there was abnormal expression of HERV-W env in sera of patients with schizophrenia. In this paper, we reported that overexpression of the HERV-W env elevated the levels of small conductance Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel protein 3 (SK3) in human neuroblastoma cells. Using a luciferase reporter system and RNA interference method, we found that functional cAMP response element site was required for the expression of SK3 triggered by HERV-W env. In addition, it was also found that the SK3 channel was activated by HERV-W env. Further study indicated that cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) was required for the activation of the SK3 channel. Thus, a novel signaling mechanism of how HERV-W env influences neuronal activity and contributes to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia was proposed.Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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