Expression of human endogenous retrovirus (HERV-K) in chronic myeloid leukemia.

We have previously demonstrated the presence of a reverse transcriptase-like enzyme in retroviral particles from patients with essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, and chronic myelogenous leukemia. It was subsequently shown that the human genome contains 50 copies of HERV-K. HERV-K is a human endogenous class I retroviral element that contains gag, pol, and env open reading frames. Using both reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and ribonuclease protection assays, it is demonstrated that the HERV-K pol is expressed in human blood leukocytes. The data indicates that this expression is restricted in CML white cells and is the result of gene regulation.