Original Article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.047
- Interferons (IFN-I) are proteins that play a role in antiviral immunity.
- Interferons are naturally occurring substance that inhibits the ability of viruses to replicate.
- Interferons can also improve the immune system.
- However, the source of IFN-I signaling under homeostatic conditions is not well understood.
- Researchers discovered that commensal bacteria regulate the IFN-I response through induction of another interferon (IFN-β) by dendritic cells in colon.
- Dendritic cells are antigen presenting cells that have a unique ability to initiate and regulate immune responses.
- In addition, the mechanism by which a specific commensal bacteria induces IFN-β was discovered.
- Gut commensal bacteria which belongs to the phylum Bacteroidetes were found to be responsible for inducing the expression of IFN-β.
- Bacteroidetes are the largest phylum of Gram-negative bacteria inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract.
- Researchers used Bacteroides fragilis and its polysaccharide A to determine how IFN-β expression was induced.
- Bacteroides fragilis are among the leading pathogens isolated in the setting of intra-abdominal infections.
- The study found that the antiviral activity of these purified microbial molecules against infection with vesicular stomatitis virus or influenza was dependent on the induction of IFN-β.
- Vesicular stomatitis virus is a zoonotic arbovirus that belongs to the family, Rhabdoviridae, the same family as the rabies viruses.
- The result suggests that IFN-β-inducing microbial molecule may contribute to the development of treatment for some human diseases.
Sources:
Stefan KL, Kim MV, Iwasaki A, Kasper DL. Commensal Microbiota Modulation of Natural Resistance to Virus Infection. Cell. 2020 Nov 13:S0092-8674(20)31454-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.047. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33212011/
https://www.medicinenet.com/interferon/definition.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/dendritic-cell
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6234a2.htm?s_cid=mm6234a2_w
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/vesicular-stomatitis-virus
