Figure 1.

HERV-W mediated effects on myeloid cells.

This illustration summarizes the origin and observed molecular effects of HERV-W on myeloid cells and how it affects neural cells of the central nervous system. Arrow starting points indicate the cellular sources of HERV-W particles or proteins (red dots) while arrowheads point to the influences on different cell types. TLR4/CD14 receptors are marked in yellow. Modulated processes are shown in grey boxes, regulated myeloid molecules and processes are shown in the central panel and regulated molecules in non-myeloid cells are shown in red. Whether microglia and macrophages respond to HERV-W in an auto- and/or paracrine way remains to be shown. CD14: Cluster of differentiation 14; HERV-W: human endogenous retroviruse-W; MG: microglia; Mφ: macrophage; NO: nitric oxide; OPCs: oligodendroglial progenitor cells; Th: T-helper cell; TLR4: Toll-like receptor 4.