Viruses are tiny DNA containing packages that use our body's metabolism and cells to help produce more. They are sometimes not even considered alive, as they do not have any mobility and cannot reproduce without the host. In some ways they are higher on the evolutionary scale since they had to develop after we did!
But scientists recently discovered some unusual properties of viral proteins that suggest a possible symbiotic relationship. In Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018 Mar 6, researchers discovered that members of a relatively innocuous family of viruses, members of the Iridoviridae family, often present without symptoms in our intestines, have the ability to produce hormones that closely resemble human insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs). These hormones are biologically active!
Perhaps our intestinal microbiotome (bacteria in the intestine) should now include viruses. The more we know, the more complex it gets. We have studied the DNA of less than 2% of known human viruses!
No comments:
Post a Comment