Recapitulation and reversal of neuropsychiatric phenotypes in a mouse model of human endogenous retrovirus type W expression.

ABSTRACT: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are inherited genetic elements derived from exogenous retroviral infections occurring throughout evolution. Accumulating evidence implicates increased expression of HERV type W envelope (HERV-W ENV) in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. To gain more mechanistic insights into the neurobiological disease pathways affected by HERV-W ENV expression, we took advantage of a mouse model that recapitulates the expression of the human-specific HERV-W ENV protein. Behavioral and cognitive phenotyping of transgenic (TG) mice expressing HERV-W ENV and wild-type (WT) controls showed that expression of this retroviral envelope caused deficits in numerous functional domains, including repetitive behavior, social and object recognition memory, and sensorimo

SUBMITTER: Herrero F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12185329 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature