Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Analysis of Group IV Viral SSHHPS Using In Vitro and In Silico Methods
Published on: December 21, 2019
Restriction of an extinct retrovirus by the human TRIM5alpha antiviral protein
Shari M Kaiser1, Harmit S Malik, Michael Emerman
1Molecular and Cellular Biology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Abstract:
Primate genomes contain a large number of endogenous retroviruses and encode evolutionarily dynamic proteins that provide intrinsic immunity to retroviral infections. We report here the resurrection of the core protein of a 4-million-year-old endogenous virus from the chimpanzee genome and show that the human variant of the intrinsic immune protein TRIM5alpha can actively prevent infection by this virus. However, we suggest that selective changes that have occurred in the human lineage during the acquisition of resistance to this virus, and perhaps similar viruses, may have left our species more susceptible to infection by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).
Related Concept Videos
Retroviruses
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis
Viruses with RNA Genomes

