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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Zika Virus Infectious Cell Culture System and the In Vitro Prophylactic Effect of Interferons
Published on: August 23, 2016
Identification of five interferon-induced cellular proteins that inhibit west nile virus and dengue virus infections
Dong Jiang1, Jessica M Weidner, Min Qing
1Drexel Institute for Biotechnology and Virology Research, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18902, USA.
Abstract:
Interferons (IFNs) are key mediators of the host innate antiviral immune response. To identify IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) that instigate an antiviral state against two medically important flaviviruses, West Nile virus (WNV) and dengue virus (DENV), we tested 36 ISGs that are commonly induced by IFN-alpha for antiviral activity against the two viruses. We discovered that five ISGs efficiently suppressed WNV and/or DENV infection when they were individually expressed in HEK293 cells. Mechanistic analyses revealed that two structurally related cell plasma membrane proteins, IFITM2 and IFITM3, disrupted early steps (entry and/or uncoating) of the viral infection. In contrast, three IFN-induced cellular enzymes, viperin, ISG20, and double-stranded-RNA-activated protein kinase, inhibited steps in viral proteins and/or RNA biosynthesis. Our results thus imply that the antiviral activity of IFN-alpha is collectively mediated by a panel of ISGs that disrupt multiple steps of the DENV and WNV life cycles.
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