SAMHD1 Suppression of Antiviral Immune Responses

SAMHD1 is a host triphosphohydrolase that degrades intracellular deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) to a lower level that restricts viral DNA synthesis, and thus prevents replication of diverse viruses in nondividing cells. Recent progress indicates that SAMHD1 negatively regulates antiviral innate immune responses and inflammation through interacting with various key proteins in immune signaling and DNA damage-repair pathways. SAMHD1 can also modulate antibody production in adaptive immune responses. In this review, we summarize how SAMHD1 regulates antiviral immune responses through distinct mechanisms, and discuss the implications of these new functions of SAMHD1. Furthermore, we propose important new questions and future directions that can advance functional and mechanistic studies of SAMHD1-mediated immune regulation during viral infections.