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Updated: Oct 18, 2025

Dissecting Innate Immune Signaling in Viral Evasion of Cytokine Production
Published on: March 2, 2014
Interferon functional analog activates antiviral Jak/Stat signaling through integrin in an arthropod
Jie Gao1, Bao-Rui Zhao1, Hui Zhang1
1Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China.
Abstract:
Drosophila Vago is a small antiviral peptide. Its ortholog in Culex mosquito was found to be an interferon-like cytokine that limits virus replication through activating Jak/Stat signaling. However, this activation is independent of Domeless, the sole homolog of vertebrate type I cytokine receptor. How Vago activates the Jak/Stat pathway remains unknown. Herein, we report this process is dependent on integrin in kuruma shrimp (Marsupenaeus japonicus). Shrimp Vago-like (MjVago-L) plays an antiviral role by activating the Jak/Stat pathway and inducing Stat-regulated Ficolin. Blocking integrin abrogates the role of MjVago-L. The interaction between MjVago-L and integrin β3 is confirmed. An Asp residue in MjVago-L is found critical for the interaction and MjVago-L's antiviral role. Moreover, Fak, a key adaptor of integrin signaling, mediates MjVago-L-induced Jak/Stat activation. Therefore, this study reveals that integrin, as the receptor of MjVago-L, mediates Jak/Stat activation. The establishment of the MjVago-L/integrin/Fak/Jak/Stat/Ficolin axis provides insights into antiviral cytokine signaling in invertebrates.
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