Consistent with a function of pp71 in counteracting the antiviral effects of hDaxx or ATRX, HCMV inefficiently enters productive infection in the absence of pp71 [124,134], unless hDaxx or ATRX proteins are depleted prior to infection, thus annihilating the impaired growth phenotype associated with a pp71-deficient mutant [127–129]. The gene discussed is ATRX; the disease is infection.