Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 11, 2026

High-throughput Quantitative Real-time RT-PCR Assay for Determining Expression Profiles of Types I and III Interferon Subtypes
10:00

High-throughput Quantitative Real-time RT-PCR Assay for Determining Expression Profiles of Types I and III Interferon Subtypes

Published on: March 24, 2015

A biological role of interferon-induced protein kinases

K Ohtsuki

    Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine
    |January 1, 1981
    PubMed

    Insights

    Interferon (IFN) treatment inhibits viral protein synthesis by activating a kinase that phosphorylates key initiation factors. This antiviral defense mechanism involves complex translational discrimination between viral and host cell messenger RNAs.

    Area of Science:

    • Molecular Biology
    • Virology
    • Cellular Biochemistry

    Background:

    • Interferons (IFNs) are crucial for antiviral defense.
    • IFN treatment induces cellular responses that inhibit viral replication.
    • The precise mechanisms of translational control in IFN-treated cells are complex and not fully understood.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To review experimental data on the role of IFN-induced factors in inhibiting viral protein synthesis.
    • To elucidate the mechanisms of translational discrimination between viral and host cell mRNAs.
    • To highlight the significance of membrane-associated kinase activity in IFN signaling.

    Main Methods:

    • Review of experimental data on protein synthesis inhibition in IFN-treated cells.
    • Analysis of phosphorylation events involving eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF-2 alpha) and ribosomal proteins.
    • Examination of IFN-induced mechanisms affecting messenger RNA (mRNA) processing and translation.

    Main Results:

    • IFN treatment inhibits viral polypeptide chain initiation via phosphorylation of eIF-2 alpha and ribosomal proteins by a dsRNA-dependent kinase.
    • Multiple mechanisms contribute to translational discrimination, including mRNA degradation, impaired tRNAs, and reduced mRNA methylation.
    • Activation of membrane-associated kinase activity is an early event in IFN signaling and crucial for host defense.

    Conclusions:

    • IFN-induced kinase activation is central to inhibiting viral translation.
    • Complex translational control mechanisms discriminate between viral and host mRNAs.
    • Further research into membrane-associated kinase functions will illuminate IFN-mediated cell activation.

    More Related Videos

    A High Resolution Method to Monitor Phosphorylation-dependent Activation of IRF311:44

    A High Resolution Method to Monitor Phosphorylation-dependent Activation of IRF3

    Published on: January 24, 2016

    Native Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis Immunoblot Analysis of Endogenous IRF5 Dimerization08:57

    Native Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis Immunoblot Analysis of Endogenous IRF5 Dimerization

    Published on: October 6, 2019

    Related Concept Videos

    Protein Kinases and Phosphatases02:54

    Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

    Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
    Protein kinases
    Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
    NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway02:26

    NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway

    The transcription factor NF-κB was discovered in 1986 in the lab of Nobel laureate Professor David Baltimore, for its interaction with the immunoglobulin light chain enhancer in B-cells. After more than three decades of study, it is now evident that NF-κB regulates the expression of over 100 genes. Most of these genes play an essential role in the innate and adaptive immune responses as well as the inflammatory responses of animals.
    NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
    The heterodimer of NF-κB...
    Protein Kinases and Phosphatases02:54

    Protein Kinases and Phosphatases

    Proteins undergo chemical modifications that trigger changes in the charge, structure, and conformation of the proteins. Phosphorylation, acetylation, glycosylation, nitrosylation, ubiquitination, lipidation, methylation, and proteolysis are various protein modifications that regulate protein activity. Such modifications are usually enzyme-driven.
    Protein kinases
    Many proteins in the cell are regulated by phosphorylation, the addition of a phosphate group. A family of enzymes called kinases...
    The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway01:20

    The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway

    Several cytokine receptors have tightly bound Janus kinase or JAK proteins attached at their cytosolic tail. Small signaling molecules such as cytokines, growth hormones, or prolactins bind to the cytokine receptors and initiate their dimerization. The dimerization brings the cytosolic JAKs together that trans-phosphorylate and activates each other. The activated JAKs now phosphorylate cytosolic tails of the cytokine receptors, which serve as binding sites for adaptor proteins such as  SH2...
    cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways01:25

    cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase Pathways

    Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) is an essential second messenger that activates protein kinase A (PKA) and regulates various biological processes. A single epinephrine molecule binds to GPCR and activates several heterotrimeric G proteins, each stimulating multiple adenylyl cyclase, amplifying the signal, and synthesizing large numbers of cAMP molecules. Small changes in cAMP concentration affect PKA activity. The binding of four cAMP molecules induces a conformational change in PKA,...
    Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis01:30

    Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis

    Protein synthesis is indispensable for viral replication, as viruses lack the cellular machinery required for this process and must hijack the host's translational apparatus. In response, host cells deploy a critical innate immune defense involving interferons, specialized cytokines that play a central role in inhibiting viral propagation.Upon viral detection, infected cells release interferons that bind to receptors on adjacent uninfected cells, activating the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and...