The international group of scientists found that the rare mutation of the CCR5-Delta32 gene, which provides resistance to HIV, appeared 7000 BC. Residents of the Black Sea Region. The study was published scientifically magazine Cell.
Experts analyzed 1000 genome from the Stone Age to the Vikings Period and analyzed the modern genome of 2504 from the ancient genome of 934 ancient genome. This made it possible to correctly determine when and where the mutation emerged and how it spread.
CCR5-Delta32 mutation first appeared in a person in the Black Sea region 6700 and 9000 years ago. Thanks to natural selection, it spread among Europeans and reached a frequency of 10-16% in modern populations.
In people with two copies of this mutation, HIV cannot penetrate the immune cells, which makes them almost untouchable to the infection.
Initially, the spread of mutation was believed to be associated with medieval outbreaks or the expansion of the Vikings. However, a new study has shown that mutation was actively distributed 8000-2000 years before the emergence of HIV. This means that it provides an advantage against other old pathogens, probably plague or smallpox.
Discovery helps to understand how evolution creates our protection against diseases. Now, CCR5-Delta32 is used in experimental HIV treatment methods including genotherapy.
Previously, scientists learnedDrugs are also effective for HIV infection.
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Source: Gazeta
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