Influenza virus repurposes the antiviral protein IFIT2 to promote translation of viral mRNAs.

ABSTRACT: Cells infected by influenza virus mount a large-scale antiviral response and most cells ultimately initiate cell-death pathways in an attempt to suppress viral replication. We performed a CRISPR-Cas9-knockout selection designed to identify host factors required for replication after viral entry. We identified a large class of presumptive antiviral factors that unexpectedly act as important proviral enhancers during influenza virus infection. One of these, IFIT2, is an interferon-stimulated gene with well-established antiviral activity but limited mechanistic understanding. As opposed to suppressing infection, we show in the present study that IFIT2 is instead repurposed by influenza virus to promote viral gene expression. CLIP-seq demonstrated that IFIT2 binds directly to viral and cellula

SUBMITTER: Tran V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7677226 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature