Interferon but not MxB inhibits foamy retroviruses

Foamy viruses are unconventional retroviruses.

Evolution of Foamy Viruses: The Most Ancient of All Retroviruses †

Recent evidence indicates that foamy viruses (FVs) are the oldest retroviruses (RVs) that we know and coevolved with their hosts for several hundred million years. This coevolution may have contributed to the non-pathogenicity of FVs, an important factor in development of foamy viral vectors in gene therapy. However, various questions on the molecular evolution of FVs remain still unanswered. T...

Sensitive assays for isolation and detection of simian foamy retroviruses.

Simian foamy viruses (SFVs) are highly prevalent in a variety of nonhuman primate species ranging from prosimians to apes. SFVs possess a broad host range, and human infections can occur by cross-species transfer (W. Heneine et al., Nat. Med. 4:403-407, 1998). Retrovirus screening of potential sources of infection, such as laboratory research animals and simian-derived biological products, coul...

MxB/Mx2: the latest piece in HIV's interferon puzzle.

Our innate immune system constitutes a first line of defence against invading microorganisms, long before pathogen-specific adaptive immune responses become effective. Intense global research efforts over the past 30 years have deepened our understanding of the molecular principles that underlie the early innate recognition of evolutionarily conserved structures on pathogens, the signalling cas...

Foamy-like endogenous retroviruses are extensive and abundant in teleosts

Recent discoveries indicate that the foamy virus (FV) (Spumavirus) ancestor may have been among the first retroviruses to appear during the evolution of vertebrates, demonstrated by foamy endogenous retroviruses present within deeply divergent hosts including mammals, coelacanth, and ray-finned fish. If they indeed existed in ancient marine environments hundreds of millions of years ago, signif...