The repentant virus... gave our ancestors cancer and now protects us from it
Scientists have confirmed that million-year-old viruses hidden inside human DNA help fight cancer.
The study, conducted by the Francis Crick Institute, showed that dormant remnants of these ancient viruses become active when cancer cells get out of control, and this inadvertently helps the immune system target and attack the tumor.
"It turns out that the antibodies recognize remnants of so-called endogenous retroviruses, some of which became part of our genetic code tens of millions of years ago," said Professor Julian Downward, associate director of research at the Francis Crick Institute.
These ancient genetic instructions can no longer revive whole viruses, but they can create enough virus fragments for the immune system to detect a viral threat.
"It's a wonderful reflection of the role of retroviruses that may have caused cancer in our ancestors because of the way they invaded our DNA, but now they protect us from cancer, which I find fascinating," says Professor George Kasiotis.
The researchers want to enhance this effect by developing vaccines to adapt the body to how it searches for endogenous retroviruses.
"If we can do that, then you can think not only of curative vaccines, but you can also think of preventative vaccines," Professor Kassiotis said.
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