Researchers studying wild Gombe chimpanzees infect with an HIV - predecessor computer virus have discovered that our close relatives may take a gene that facilitate to lessen the impact of the viral contagion . Furthermore , this gene bears a striking resemblance to a human cistron that hold up the progression of HIV by reducing the viral lode . Thefindingswere issue inPLoS Biologythis week .
A squad lead byStanford ’s Emily WroblewskiandPeter Parhamanalyzed DNA from a well - studied universe ofwild chimpanzees living in Gombe National Parkin northwestern Tanzania . These chimps are of course infect with SIVcpz , a strain of the simian immunodeficiency computer virus . SIVs are harbinger to HIV-1 and HIV-2 . Because SIVs are so diverse , these viral infection can be nonpathogenic , which may represent anevolutionary adaption between primates and their viruses .
In humans and chimpanzee alike , cell - surface protein call major histocompatibility composite ( MHC ) class I molecules recognize foreign invaders and activate the body ’s immune response to viral contagion . With viruses germinate so rapidly , the MHC class I mote have evolved rapidly in response , becoming highly diverse and species - specific . Using DNA from fecal samples , the squad sequence an MHC gene call off Patr - B from 125 Gombe chimps . They were able to identify 11 Patr - boron allelomorph , or variants of the gene .
Over a 15 - yr period , two societal communities ( out of three ) flourished , maintaining one or two gamy - frequency Patr - barn variant and many humiliated - frequency ones . These high relative frequency are thanks to the generative succeeder of immigrants in the northern residential district and to the fecundity of socially dominant individuals in the cardinal residential area . The southerly community , however , has been declining , and they ’ve been experiencing corking change in their Patr - B complex allelomorph frequencies . While the northerly and central community have a SIVcpz preponderance of about 12 percent , Science reports , the southern group has a prevalence of 46.1 percent .
One of the gene variants that ’s elevate among SIVcpz - infect chimpanzees , called Patr - B06:03 , resemble the human MHC gene that delays the progression of HIV by deoxidize the viral load . It ’s call HLA - B57:01 and it trigger the production of grampus cell that target HIV - infected cells in human . Similarly , Patr - B*06:03 is linked to a thin out SIVcpz consignment , and it probably lessens the encroachment of SIVcpz infections as well .
They ’re not identical , but the chimp reading is interrelate to ours in construction , function , and evolution – forming a remarkable trans - mintage group of MHC alleles . Human and chimpanzee resistant systems are remarkably similar , and understand the differences and similarities between these MHC genes could help us to develop an efficacious vaccine .
