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The enemy within: dormant retroviruses awaken

Mammalian genomes harbor regulatory elements from ancient retroviral infections. These retroviral remnants are normally silenced by DNA methylation—but this can change. Reactivation of one such element triggers the expression of a nearby oncogene during the development of Hodgkin's lymphoma (571–579).

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Figure 1: Aberrant expression of CSF1R is driven by the LTR of an endogenous retrovirus in Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Kimberly Caesar

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Correspondence to Michael E Engel or Scott W Hiebert.

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Engel, M., Hiebert, S. The enemy within: dormant retroviruses awaken. Nat Med 16, 517–518 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0510-517

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