Fundamental properties of the mammalian innate immune system revealed by multispecies comparison of type I interferon responses.

ABSTRACT: The host innate immune response mediated by type I interferon (IFN) and the resulting up-regulation of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) provide an immediate barrier to virus infection. Studies of the type I 'interferome' have mainly been carried out at a single species level, often lacking the power necessary to understand key evolutionary features of this pathway. Here, using a single experimental platform, we determined the properties of the interferomes of multiple vertebrate species and developed a webserver to mine the dataset. This approach revealed a conserved 'core' of 62 ISGs, including genes not previously associated with IFN, underscoring the ancestral functions associated with this antiviral host response. We show that gene expansion contributes to the evolution o

SUBMITTER: Shaw AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5747502 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature