Fig. 4.

qRT-PCR transcript quantification of HERV-Wenv (syncytin-1) and HERV-FRDenv (syncytin-2). HERV-Wenv and HERV-FRDenv mRNA expression was analyzed in controls and CD (ileum/colon) by qRT-PCR (normalized to β-actin). p values were calculated by Mann-Whitney test. A p value of < 0.05 is considered significant. (a) HERV-Wenv transcripts are significantly decreased in inflamed vs. non-inflamed colonic CD, an effect not seen in the ileal mucosa. (b) HERV-FRDenv mRNA is significantly down-regulated in inflamed ileal CD compared to controls. In the colonic tissue, no differences could be detected.