title: IFN Regulatory Factors and Antiviral Innate Immunity: How Viruses Can Get Better.
abstract: The interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family consists of transcriptional regulators that exert multifaceted and versatile functions in multiple biological processes. Their crucial role as central mediators in the establishment and execution of host immunity in response to pathogen-derived signals downstream pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) makes IRFs a hallmark of the host antiviral response. They function as hub molecules at the crossroad of different signaling pathways for the induction of interferon (IFN) and inflammatory cytokines, as well as of antiviral and immunomodulatory genes even in an IFN-independent manner. By regulating the development and activity of immune cells, IRFs also function as a bridge between innate and adaptive responses. As such, IRFs represent attractive and compulsive targets in viral strategies to subvert antiviral signaling. In this study, we discuss current knowledge on the wide array of strategies put in place by pathogenic viruses to evade, subvert, and/or hijack these essential components of host antiviral immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Edvige
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perrotti
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Anna Lisa
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Remoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Acchioni
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sgarbanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità , Rome, Italy .
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Battistini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D050835:Interferon Regulatory Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005810:Multigene Family; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D014780:Viruses / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D050835:Interferon Regulatory Factors