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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

High Throughput In Vitro Assessment of Latency Reversing Agents on HIV Transcription and Splicing
Published on: January 22, 2019
Senataxin suppresses the antiviral transcriptional response and controls viral biogenesis
Matthew S Miller1, Alexander Rialdi2, Jessica Sook Yuin Ho3
11] Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA. [2] Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Institute for Infectious Diseases Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Abstract:
The human helicase senataxin (SETX) has been linked to the neurodegenerative diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS4) and ataxia with oculomotor apraxia (AOA2). Here we identified a role for SETX in controlling the antiviral response. Cells that had undergone depletion of SETX and SETX-deficient cells derived from patients with AOA2 had higher expression of antiviral mediators in response to infection than did wild-type cells. Mechanistically, we propose a model whereby SETX attenuates the activity of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) at genes stimulated after a virus is sensed and thus controls the magnitude of the host response to pathogens and the biogenesis of various RNA viruses (e.g., influenza A virus and West Nile virus). Our data indicate a potentially causal link among inborn errors in SETX, susceptibility to infection and the development of neurologic disorders.
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