Viruses vs Us

Our cells evolved multiple defence mechanisms to inhibit virus replication and spread; in turn, viruses evolved proteins that can hijack these defence mechanism. It’s a constant evolutionary arms race: some viruses, such as herpes viruses, resolved to co-exist with the host and rarely cause diseases; others, such as HIV and Ebola, lead to serious diseases and can be lethal. Which viruses are most successful: the ones that kill or the ones that don't?

Infection triggers two responses from the immune system: removing the invader and generating long term memory to shut down future infections before they take hold. A tool for both is antibodies, which are generated by a strenuous selection and reselection process, before ultimately swiping right. This talk will explain the set-up and rules of this ‘immunological Tinder’.

Remarkably, around 8% of the DNA in our genome originates from viruses, and there is mounting evidence that viral infections have shaped our evolution as a species. The majority of this 8% comes from a subset of viruses called retroviruses, a group that insert their genetic material into ours and coopt our cells to replicate more virus. One layer of our immune response is to regulate this replication by a process called epigenetic silencing. I will discuss our efforts to understand this silencing process, which is carried out by the aptly named Human Silencing Hub (HUSH) complex.