IRF1 is a master regulator of intrinsic resistance to viruses in liver cells. Study results have implications for cellular responses to hepatitis, dengue and Zika.
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In 2019 alone, there have been several outbreaks of hepatitis A throughout the United States, including Florida, Ohio and California. Hepatitis A infection occurs through consuming contaminated food and water, sex, and injection drug use. The infection can be fatal. There is a very effective and safe two-shot vaccine for hepatitis A virus. However, people who have not been immunized remain at risk for infection.
"We also found that while expressing RARRES3 is protective against hepatitis A infection, it does not help liver cells resist an attack from other RNA viruses like dengue," said Daisuke Yamane, D.V.M., Ph.D., the study's co-author who was previously a research associate at UNC and is now chief researcher at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science's Viral Infectious Diseases Project. "In future studies, we hope to further investigate this innate immunity of liver cells to regulate infection through IRF1 and to better understand why IRF1 sparks certain cellular functions to guard against particular RNA viruses."
Source-Eurekalert