The APOBEC family of single-stranded DNA cytosine deaminases comprises a formidable
arm of the vertebrate innate immune system. Pre-vertebrates express a single APOBEC …

Evolution of RNA viruses occurs through disequilibria of collections of closely related mutant
spectra or mutant clouds termed viral quasispecies. Here we review the origin of the …

Antiviral restriction factors are host cellular proteins that constitute a first line of defense
blocking viral replication and propagation. In addition to interfering at critical steps of the …

SAMHD1 is a restriction factor for HIV-1 infection. SAMHD1 mutations cause the
autoinflammatory Aicardi-Goutières syndrome that is characterized by chronic type I …

HIV-1 is transmitted primarily across mucosal surfaces and rapidly spreads within the
intestinal mucosa during acute infection. The type I interferons (IFNs) likely serve as a first …

Knowledge of the processes that underlie IgG subclass switching could inform strategies
designed to counteract infections and autoimmunity. Here we show that TLR7 ligands …

ABSTRACT Approximately 4.4% of the human genome is comprised of endogenous
retroviral sequences, a record of an evolutionary battle between man and retroviruses. Much …

Tetherin/BST-2 is a host restriction factor that could directly inhibit retroviral particle release
by tethering nascent virions to the plasma membrane. However, the immunological impact of …

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) is an integral process in the development of high-affinity
antibodies that are important for recovery from viral infections and vaccine-induced …

Apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic peptide 3 (APOBEC3) proteins are critical
host proteins that counteract and prevent the replication of retroviruses. Unlike the genome …