Santhakumar Diwakar, Rubbenstroth Dennis, Martinez-Sobrido Luis, Munir Muhammad
The Pirbright Institute , Woking , UK.
Institute for Virology, Faculty of Medicine, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg , Freiburg , Germany.
Front Immunol. 2017 Jan 31;8:49. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00049. eCollection 2017.
Interferon (IFN) responses, mediated by a myriad of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), are the most profound innate immune responses against viruses. Cumulatively, these IFN effectors establish a multilayered antiviral state to safeguard the host against invading viral pathogens. Considerable genetic and functional characterizations of mammalian IFNs and their effectors have been made, and our understanding on the avian IFNs has started to expand. Similar to mammalian counterparts, three types of IFNs have been genetically characterized in most avian species with available annotated genomes. Intriguingly, chickens are capable of mounting potent innate immune responses upon various stimuli in the absence of essential components of IFN pathways including retinoic acid-inducible gene I, IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), and possibility IRF9. Understanding these unique properties of the chicken IFN system would propose valuable targets for the development of potential therapeutics for a broader range of viruses of both veterinary and zoonotic importance. This review outlines recent developments in the roles of avian IFNs and ISGs against viruses and highlights important areas of research toward our understanding of the antiviral functions of IFN effectors against viral infections in birds.
由众多干扰素刺激基因（ISG）介导的干扰素（IFN）反应是针对病毒最强烈的固有免疫反应。这些IFN效应分子共同建立起多层抗病毒状态，以保护宿主抵御入侵的病毒病原体。对哺乳动物IFN及其效应分子已经进行了大量的遗传学和功能表征，我们对禽类IFN的了解也开始不断扩展。与哺乳动物类似，在大多数具有可用注释基因组的禽类物种中，三种类型的IFN已在遗传学上得到表征。有趣的是，在缺乏IFN途径的关键成分（包括视黄酸诱导基因I、IFN调节因子3（IRF3）以及可能的IRF9）的情况下，鸡仍能够在各种刺激下产生强大的固有免疫反应。了解鸡IFN系统的这些独特特性将为开发针对更广泛的具有兽医和人畜共患病重要性的病毒的潜在治疗方法提供有价值的靶点。本综述概述了禽类IFN和ISG在抗病毒方面作用的最新进展，并强调了在我们理解IFN效应分子对鸟类病毒感染的抗病毒功能方面的重要研究领域。
