Negative regulation of Nmi on virus-triggered type I IFN production by targeting IRF7

J Immunol. 2013 Sep 15;191(6):3393-9. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1300740. Epub 2013 Aug 16.

Abstract

Viral infection causes host cells to produce type I IFNs, which play a critical role in viral clearance. IFN regulatory factor (IRF) 7 is the master regulator of type I IFN-dependent immune responses. In this article, we report that N-Myc and STATs interactor (Nmi), a Sendai virus-inducible protein, interacted with IRF7 and inhibited virus-triggered type I IFN production. The overexpression of Nmi inhibited the Sendai virus-triggered induction of type I IFNs, whereas the knockdown of Nmi promoted IFN production. Furthermore, the enhanced production of IFNs resulting from Nmi knockdown was sufficient to protect cells from infection by vesicular stomatitis virus. In addition, Nmi was found to promote the K48-linked ubiquitination of IRF7 and the proteasome-dependent degradation of this protein. Finally, an impairment of antiviral responses is also detectable in Nmi-transgenic mice. These findings suggest that Nmi is a negative regulator of the virus-triggered induction of type I IFNs that targets IRF7.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Immunoblotting
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Interferon Regulatory Factor-7 / immunology
  • Interferon Regulatory Factor-7 / metabolism*
  • Interferon Type I / immunology
  • Interferon Type I / metabolism*
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Respirovirus Infections / immunology*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Sendai virus / immunology
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Interferon Regulatory Factor-7
  • Interferon Type I
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Irf7 protein, mouse