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HERV-W-related RNA detected in plasma from individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder

Molecular Psychiatry volume 9, pages 12–13 (2004)Cite this article

SIR – In a previous study, we identified retroviral RNA of, presumably, endogenous origin in the cerebrospinal fluids (CSFs) of 10/35 individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.1 The majority (7/10) of these patients harbored sequences related to the HERV-W family of human endogenous retroviruses. In the present study, we tested plasma from first hospitalized patients with DSM IV schizophrenia, schizoaffective psychosis, or schizophreniform disorder (n=54, median age: 27.3 years, range: 30 years) and healthy controls (n=46, median age: 31.1 years, range: 29 years) for the presence of HERV-W-related RNA. Of the cases, 33 were included in a previous study on CSF.1 Informed consent was obtained from all study participants and approval was obtained from the ethics committee, University of Heidelberg. Patients had received neuroleptics (high-potency butyrophenones in 40 patients) for a maximum of 14 days prior to study intake. We adopted a protocol more suitable for larger numbers of samples that would allow the isolation of RNA from retroviral particles completely free of contaminating genomic DNA (see supplementary information).

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) RNA was extracted from FLK-cell supernatant and from samples where the supernatant was diluted 10–1000 times in human plasma. BLV-encoded RNA was detected by RT-PCR using specific primers in these samples. HERV-W-related gag sequences were subsequently detected in the plasma of 9/54 individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia. Related sequences were detected in 2/46 healthy controls (χ2=3.85, P=0.05, df=1). All PCR products were cloned and sequence verified. The possibility that the amplified gag-encoded sequences merely indicate the differential presence of cell-related RNA in some samples is less likely, since GAPDH-encoded mRNA could not be detected in any of the samples. Additionally, retroviral sequences could not be amplified from the DNase-treated RNA not subjected to reverse transcription (not shown), indicating that the amplicons do not represent contaminating genomic DNA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    H Karlsson

  2. Section of Geriatric Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    J Schröder, S Bachmann & C Bottmer

  3. Stanley Division of Developmental Neurovirology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    R H Yolken

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  1. H Karlsson
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  2. J Schröder
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  3. S Bachmann
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  4. C Bottmer
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  5. R H Yolken
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Correspondence to H Karlsson.

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Karlsson, H., Schröder, J., Bachmann, S. et al. HERV-W-related RNA detected in plasma from individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Mol Psychiatry 9, 12–13 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.mp.4001439

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