ERVW-1 and lichen planus: Because a portion of the HERV-W transcripts were shown to be derived from the 7q21.2/ERVWE1 locus, we used confirmatory Taqman qPCR to analyze the expression of ERVWE1 mRNA in the MF lesions and also, for comparison, in five Lichen ruber planus skin samples (representing benign skin-homing T cell infiltrates).