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Updated: May 21, 2026

Dissecting Host-virus Interaction in Lytic Replication of a Model Herpesvirus
Published on: October 7, 2011
Virus-cell fusion as a trigger of innate immunity dependent on the adaptor STING
Christian K Holm1, Søren B Jensen, Martin R Jakobsen
1Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Abstract:
The innate immune system senses infection by detecting either evolutionarily conserved molecules essential for the survival of microbes or the abnormal location of molecules. Here we demonstrate the existence of a previously unknown innate detection mechanism induced by fusion between viral envelopes and target cells. Virus-cell fusion specifically stimulated a type I interferon response with expression of interferon-stimulated genes, in vivo recruitment of leukocytes and potentiation of signaling via Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and TLR9. The fusion-dependent response was dependent on the stimulator of interferon genes STING but was independent of DNA, RNA and viral capsid. We suggest that membrane fusion is sensed as a danger signal with potential implications for defense against enveloped viruses and various conditions of giant-cell formation.
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