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Characterization of the interferon regulatory factor 3-mediated antiviral response in a cell line deficient for IFN
Tracy Chew1, Ryan Noyce, Susan E Collins
1Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
The innate cellular response to virus particle entry in non-immune cells requires the transcriptional activity of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3), but not production of type I interferon (IFN). Here, we characterize the IFN-independent innate cellular response to virus-derived stimuli in Vero cells, a monkey kidney epithelial cell line deficient for IFN production. We provide evidence that Vero cells are deficient in their ability to mount an IRF-3-dependent, IFN-independent antiviral response against either incoming virus particles or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (pIC), a dsRNA mimetic. We further demonstrate that abundance of IRF-3 protein is a determinant in the pIC-mediated antiviral signalling pathway. These observations further characterize the permissive nature of Vero cells to viral infection, and highlight the crucial involvement of IRF-3 in the innate antiviral response.
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