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Gene neighbors may have taken turns battling retroviruses

A cluster of antiviral genes in humans has likely battled retroviral invasions for millions of years. New research by Sara Sawyer, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in the Basic Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, now finds that in addition to the previously identified TRIM5 gene that can defend against retroviruses like HIV, a related gene right next door, called TRIM22, may have participated in antiviral defense.