linkedin post 2016-03-23 05:11:47

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MAMMALIAN ACQUISITIONS. "Here we describe the opposite situation, where a viral gene has been sequestered to serve an important function in the physiology of a mammalian host. This gene, encoding a protein that we have called syncytin, is the envelope gene of a recently identified human endogenous defective retrovirus, HERV-W2." https://lnkd.in/e9E9b8u View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2016-03-23 04:49:09

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"ANCIENT GENES involved in growth and metabolism were co-opted for use during early embryogenesis, likely enabling the accelerated development of extraembryonic tissues. Recently duplicated genes are utilized at later stages of placentation to meet the metabolic needs of a diverse range of pregnancy physiologies. Together, these mechanisms served to develop the specialized placenta, a novel structure that led to expansion of the eutherian mammal, including humankind." https://lnkd.in/eN_bZTg View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2016-03-23 04:41:03

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PLACENTAL PLASTICITY. "The placental system and the fetal membranes evolved an astonishing complexity and diversity following the radiation of placental mammals. This plasticity may have been driven by evolutionary intraspecies tensions between the mother and the fetus and the involved genes. Likely, such tensions resulted in a field of opposing processes between the parent and offspring." https://lnkd.in/edVs2NW View in LinkedIn
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linkedin post 2016-03-25 05:41:20

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SELF/NON-SELF. "Another postulated beneficial role of HERV-encoded Env proteins is their involvement in suppressing possible maternal immunological reactions against the fetus based on the immunosuppressive activity characteristic of retroviral Env proteins." http://jvi.asm.org/content/79/1/341.full View in LinkedIn
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