Melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 senses hepatitis B virus and activates innate immune signaling to suppress virus replication.

Retinoic acid-inducible gene-I (RIG-I) and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) belong to the RIG-I-like receptors family of pattern recognition receptors. Both RIG-I and MDA5 have been shown to recognize various viral RNAs, but whether they mediate hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that the expression of MDA5, but not RIG-I, was increased in Huh7 cells transfected with the HBV replicative plasmid and in the livers of mice hydrodynamically injected with the HBV replicative plasmid.

A novel alternatively spliced interleukin-1 receptor accessory protein mIL-1RAcP687.

The 570-amino acid membrane form of IL-1RAcP (mIL-1RAcP) plays a pivotal role in the IL-1 signal transduction and response. We have identified another membrane form of IL-1RAcP with 687 amino acids (named as mIL-1RAcP687 hereon). Its except the last amino acid N-terminal 448 amino acid portion, containing three extracellular immunoglobulin domains, one transmembrane domain, and Box 1 and Box 2 of Toll/IL1 Receptor (TIR) domain, is identical to that of mIL-1RAcP.

Dengue virus induces expression of CXC chemokine ligand 10/IFN-gamma-inducible protein 10, which competitively inhibits viral binding to cell surface heparan sulfate.

Dengue virus is an arthropod-borne flavivirus that causes a mild febrile illness, dengue fever, or a potentially fatal syndrome, dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome. Chemokines primarily orchestrate leukocyte recruitment to the areas of viral infection, which makes them critical mediators of immune and inflammatory responses. In the present study, we investigated the induction and function of chemokines in mice early after infection with dengue virus in vivo.