Human endogenous retroviruses: expression in various organs in vivo and its regulation in vitro.

To evaluate the role of human endogenous retroviruses in vivo, we examined their expressions in various organs from autopsy cases by Northern blot and RT-PCR. ERV3 (HERV-R) mRNA was expressed in many organs, and the level of expression in individuals and organs considerably differed. However, expression in the adrenal gland showed consistently high levels in every individual.