An increased activity of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) is frequently observed in different tumour types. In this work the transcriptional activity of selected HERV groups was analysed in healthy and malignant mammary gland and urothelial tissue and active proviruses were identified. Only in breast tumours, a significantly increased transcription of the HERV-K(HML-2) group and of the ERVK-5 locus was observed, which seems to be associated with the oestrogen or progesterone receptor status. Thus increased HML-2 or ERVK-5 transcripts might be of diagnostic relevance.
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An increased activity of human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) is frequently observed in different tumour types. In this work the transcriptional activity of selected HERV groups was analysed in healthy and malignant mammary gland and urothelial tissue and active proviruses were identified. Only in breast tumours, a significantly increased transcription of the HERV-K(HML-2) group and of the ERVK-5 locus was observed, which seems to be associated with the oestrogen or progesterone receptor status...
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