Non-transcriptional IRF7 interacts with NF-κB to inhibit viral inflammation

Shumin Fan, Sonam Popli, Sukanya Chakravarty, Ritu Chakravarti, Saurabh Chattopadhyay

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Interferon (IFN) regulatory factors (IRF) are key transcription factors in cellular antiviral responses. IRF7, a virus-inducible IRF, expressed primarily in myeloid cells, is required for transcriptional induction of interferon α and antiviral genes. IRF7 is activated by virus-induced phosphorylation in the cytoplasm, leading to its translocation to the nucleus for transcriptional activity. Here, we revealed a nontranscriptional activity of IRF7 contributing to its antiviral functions. IRF7 interacted with the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB-p65 and inhibited the induction of inflammatory target genes. Using knockdown, knockout, and overexpression strategies, we demonstrated that IRF7 inhibited NF-κB–dependent inflammatory target genes, induced by virus infection or toll-like receptor stimulation. A mutant IRF7, defective in transcriptional activity, interacted with NF-κB-p65 and suppressed NF-κB–induced gene expression. A single-action IRF7 mutant, active in anti-inflammatory function, but defective in transcriptional activity, efficiently suppressed Sendai virus and murine hepatitis virus replication. We, therefore, uncovered an anti-inflammatory function for IRF7, independent of transcriptional activity, contributing to the antiviral response of IRF7.

Original languageEnglish
Article number107200
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume300
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors

Keywords

  • antiviral
  • innate immunity
  • IRF7
  • NF-κB
  • viral inflammation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

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