The association between transcriptional activation of HERV and the develop- ment of schizophrenia was investigated. Nested RT-PCR was used to detect the preval- ence of HERV env RNA in the PBMCs of individuals with recent-onset of schizophrenia and normal persons from central and southern China. β-actin gene was used as an internal control. HERV env homologous sequences were found in the PBMCs of 8 of 28 (28.6%) individuals with recent-onset schizophrenia, while no env sequences were identified in any of the PBMCs obtained from 24 normal person (P<0.001). The results suggested that transcriptional activation of HERV might be associated with the develop- pment of schizophr- enia in at least some patients.
