Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are an inherited part of the eukaryotic genomes, and represent ∼400 000 loci in the human genome. Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) can be divided into distinct families, composed of phylogenetically related but structurally heterogeneous elements. The majority of HERVs are silent in most physiological contexts, whereas a significant expression is observed in pathological contexts, such as cancers. Owing to their repetitive nature, few of the active HERV elements have been accurately identified. In addition, there are no criteria defining the active promoters among HERV long-terminal repeats (LTRs). Hence, it is difficult to understand the HERV (de)regulation mechanisms and their implication on the physiopathology of the host. We developed a microarray to specifically detect the LTR-containing transcripts from the HERV-H, HERV-E, HERV-W and HERV-K(HML-2) families. HERV transcriptome was analyzed in the placenta and seven normal/tumoral match-pair samples. We identified six HERV-W loci overexpressed in testicular cancer, including a usually placenta-restricted transcript of ERVWE1. For each locus, specific overexpression was confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR, and comparison of the activity of U3 versus U5 regions suggested a U3-promoted transcription coupled with 5′R initiation. The analysis of DNA from tumoral versus normal tissue revealed that hypomethylation of U3 promoters in tumors is a prerequisite for their activation.

BackgroundStudies of the functional consequences of DCM-causing mutations have been limited to a few cases where patients with known mutations had heart transplants. To increase the number of potential tissue samples for direct investigation we performed whole exon sequencing of explanted heart muscle samples from 30 patients that had a diagnosis of familial dilated cardiomyopathy and screened for potentially disease-causing mutations in 58 HCM or DCM-related genes.ResultsWe identified 5 potentially disease-causing OBSCN mutations in 4 samples; one sample had two OBSCN mutations and one mutation was judged to be not disease-related. Also identified were 6 truncating mutations in TTN, 3 mutations in MYH7, 2 in DSP and one each in TNNC1, TNNI3, MYOM1, VCL, GLA, PLB, TCAP, PKP2 and LAMA4. The mean level of obscurin mRNA was significantly greater and more variable in healthy donor samples than the DCM samples but did not correlate with OBSCN mutations. A single obscurin protein band was observed in human heart myofibrils with apparent mass 960 ± 60 kDa. The three samples with OBSCN mutations had significantly lower levels of obscurin immunoreactive material than DCM samples without OBSCN mutations (45±7, 48±3, and 72±6% of control level).Obscurin levels in DCM controls, donor heart and myectomy samples were the same.Conclusions OBSCN mutations may result in the development of a DCM phenotype via haploinsufficiency. Mutations in the obscurin gene should be considered as a significant causal factor of DCM, alone or in concert with other mutations.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are spread throughout the genome and their long terminal repeats (LTRs) constitute a wide collection of putative regulatory sequences. Phylogenetic similarities and the profusion of integration sites, two inherent characteristics of transposable elements, make it difficult to study individual locus expression in a large-scale approach, and historically apart from some placental and testis-regulated elements, it was generally accepted that HERVs are silent due to epigenetic control. Herein, we have introduced a generic method aiming to optimally characterize individual loci associated with 25-mer probes by minimizing cross-hybridization risks. We therefore set up a microarray dedicated to a collection of 5,573 HERVs that can reasonably be assigned to a unique genomic position. We obtained a first view of the HERV transcriptome by using a composite panel of 40 normal and 39 tumor samples. The experiment showed that almost one third of the HERV repertoire is indeed transcribed. The HERV transcriptome follows tropism rules, is sensitive to the state of differentiation and, unexpectedly, seems not to correlate with the age of the HERV families. The probeset definition within the U3 and U5 regions was used to assign a function to some LTRs (i.e. promoter or polyA) and revealed that (i) autonomous active LTRs are broadly subjected to operational determinism (ii) the cellular gene density is substantially higher in the surrounding environment of active LTRs compared to silent LTRs and (iii) the configuration of neighboring cellular genes differs between active and silent LTRs, showing an approximately 8 kb zone upstream of promoter LTRs characterized by a drastic reduction in sense cellular genes. These gathered observations are discussed in terms of virus/host adaptive strategies, and together with the methods and tools developed for this purpose, this work paves the way for further HERV transcriptome projects.

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are globally silent in somatic cells. However, some HERVs display high transcription in physiological conditions. In particular, ERVWE1, ERVFRDE1 and ERV3, three proviruses of distinct families, are highly transcribed in placenta and produce envelope proteins associated with placenta development. As silencing of repeated elements is thought to occur mainly by DNA methylation, we compared the methylation of ERVWE1 and related HERVs to appreciate whether HERV methylation relies upon the family, the integration site, the tissue, the long terminal repeat (LTR) function or the associated gene function. CpG methylation of HERV-W LTRs in placenta-associated tissues was heterogeneous but a joint epigenetic control was found for ERVWE1 5′LTR and its juxtaposed enhancer, a mammalian apparent LTR retrotransposon. Additionally, ERVWE1, ERVFRDE1 and ERV3 5′LTRs were all essentially hypomethylated in cytotrophoblasts during pregnancy, but showed distinct and stage-dependent methylation profiles. In non-cytotrophoblastic cells, they also exhibited different methylation profiles, compatible with their respective transcriptional activities. Comparative analyses of transcriptional activity and LTR methylation in cell lines further sustained a role for methylation in the control of functional LTRs. These results suggest that HERV methylation might not be family related but copy-specific, and related to the LTR function and the tissue. In particular, ERVWE1 and ERV3 could be developmentally epigenetically regulated HERVs.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an important cause of heart failure. Single gene mutations in at least 50 genes have been proposed to account for 25–50% of DCM cases and up to 25% of inherited DCM has been attributed to truncating mutations in the sarcomeric structural protein titin (TTNtv). Whilst the primary molecular mechanism of some DCM-associated mutations in the contractile apparatus has been studied in vitro and in transgenic mice, the contractile defect in human heart muscle has not been studied. In this study we isolated cardiac myofibrils from 3 TTNtv mutants, and 3 with contractile protein mutations (TNNI3 K36Q, TNNC1 G159D and MYH7 E1426K) and measured their contractility and passive stiffness in comparison with donor heart muscle as a control. We found that the three contractile protein mutations but not the TTNtv mutations had faster relaxation kinetics. Passive stiffness was reduced about 38% in all the DCM mutant samples. However, there was no change in maximum force or the titin N2BA/N2B isoform ratio and there was no titin haploinsufficiency. The decrease in myofibril passive stiffness was a common feature in all hearts with DCM-associated mutations and may be causative of DCM.

No abstract

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

Quercetin (3, 3 0 , 4 0 , 5, 7-pentahydroxyflavone, QCT) is a major flavonoid of plants, known to exhibit anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects. QCT has been demonstrated to have a cardioprotective effect through its antioxidant activity. In the present study, we found that QCT markedly enhanced the contractility of a single cardiomyocyte isolated from mouse hearts in a dynamic fashion even under conditions with no apparent oxidative stress. Simultaneous measurement of Ca 2þ transient in a Fura-2 loaded single cardiomyocyte revealed that QCT markedly increased the cytoplasmic Ca 2þ both at diastole and systole under regular electrical stimulation. Echocardiography revealed that intravenous administration of QCT also increased the left ventricular systolic function of the heart evaluated by ejection fraction in mice with reduced cardiac function due to a mutation causing genetic dilated cardiomyopathy (delK210 mutation in cardiac troponin T). QCT did not change the maximum force-generating capability and Ca 2þ sensitivity of force generation in skinned (membrane-permeabilized) cardiac muscle fibers prepared from mouse hearts, indicating that QCT has no direct effects on the contractile machinery in cardiomyocytes. These findings indicates that QCT has a direct cardiotonic effect through enhancing the Ca 2þ transient in cardiomyocytes independently of its antioxidative action. Studies on the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena are in progress.