Interferon-Inducible Protein 16 (IFI16) Has a Broad-Spectrum Binding Ability Against ssDNA Targets: An Evolutionary Hypothesis for Antiretroviral Checkpoint.

ABSTRACT: Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are under genomic and epigenetic control but can be expressed in normal tissues, producing RNA transcripts some of which are translated. While it has not been demonstrated experimentally in modern humans, cDNA copies from HERV RNA (namely HERV-K HML-2 or HK2) were produced after the human-chimp split and until at least 250,000 years ago. We were interested in determining if such cDNA could be a ligand for pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) of the innate immune response. The AIM-2-like receptors for DNA, interferon-γ-inducible protein 16 (IFI16) and Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) were candidate PRRs. IFI16 can detect cDNA produced during HIV-1 replication, causing increased T cell death. While HIV-1 has emerged relatively recently as a human pathogen,

SUBMITTER: Hurst TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6621918 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature