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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Apr 16.
Published in final edited form as: Circulation. 2017 Nov 14;136(20):1936–1938. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.031190

Figure. HERV-K may initiate or propagate the inflammation that defines pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Figure.

Saito and colleagues propose a role for HERV-K in the pathogenesis of PAH. Specifically, HERV-K components induce SAMDH1 expression, resulting in cytokine release, endothelial apoptosis, and B-cell activation. How HERV-K is activated or its diagnostic and therapeutic implications are still undefined. HERV-K indicates human endogenous retrovirus K; IL, interleukin; PAH, pulmonary arterial hypertension; and TNF, tumor necrosis factor.