RIOK3 and Its Alternatively Spliced Isoform Have Disparate Roles in the Innate Immune Response to Rift Valley Fever...

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is a significant public health and biosecurity threat.
• The atypical kinase RIOK3 is involved in the innate immune response to RVFV.
• RIOK3 is essential for the antiviral interferon (IFN) response in epithelial cells during RVFV infection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the roles of RIOK3 and its alternatively spliced isoform, RIOK3 X2, in other innate immune responses to RVFV.
• To elucidate the specific functions of RIOK3 and RIOK3 X2 in the NFκB-mediated inflammatory pathway during RVFV infection.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of RIOK3 and RIOK3 X2 roles in innate immune pathways.
• Investigation of NFκB-mediated inflammatory responses to RVFV.

Main Results:

• RIOK3 negatively regulates the NFκB-mediated inflammatory pathway in response to RVFV.
• The alternatively spliced isoform, RIOK3 X2, stimulates the NFκB-mediated inflammatory pathway.
• RIOK3 and RIOK3 X2 exhibit distinct functions in separate innate immune pathways against RVFV.

Conclusions:

• RIOK3 plays a role in negatively controlling inflammation during RVFV infection.
• RIOK3 X2 promotes inflammation during RVFV infection.
• Both RIOK3 and its X2 isoform have unique, pathway-specific roles in the innate immune response to RVFV infection.