[Antiviral activities of interferon and PML pathway]

Discovered in 1957 for their antiviral properties, interferons (IFNs) are a growing cytokine family with diverse biological activities including antitumor and immunoregulatory activities. IFN are classified in three types I, II and III. They bind to different specific cell receptors and induce via the Jak/Stat pathway the expression of more than 300 genes, the products of which are believed to mediate their biological effects. Several proteins have been implicated in resistance to viral infection in IFN-treated cells, i.e. the dsRNAdependent protein kinase PKR, the 2'5' oligoadenylate synthetase/RNaseL and Mx proteins. However, it was demonstrated that cells from triple knockout mice lacking PKR, RNase L and Mx are still sensitive to the IFN-induced antiviral state, indicating that other pathways exist. One of these pathways implicates promyelocytic leukemia (PML) protein. This article reviews the potential antiviral activities of the different IFN-induced mediators focusing onPMLpathway and how viruses from different families overcome this defence.