Regulation of antiviral innate immune signaling and viral evasion following viral genome sensing

A harmonized balance between positive and negative regulation of pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-initiated immune responses is required to achieve the most favorable outcome for the host. This balance is crucial because it must not only ensure activation of the first line of defense against viral infection but also prevent inappropriate immune activation, which results in autoimmune diseases. Recent studies have shown how signal transduction pathways initiated by PRRs are positively and negatively regulated by diverse modulators to maintain host immune homeostasis. However, viruses have developed strategies to subvert the host antiviral response and establish infection. Viruses have evolved numerous genes encoding immunomodulatory proteins that antagonize the host immune system. This review focuses on the current state of knowledge regarding key host factors that regulate innate immune signaling molecules upon viral infection and discusses evidence showing how specific viral proteins counteract antiviral responses via immunomodulatory strategies.Subject terms: Innate immunity, Post-translational modifications     

肿瘤抑制因子WT1对人的诱导型一氧化氮合成酶基因的转录调节作用

将人的诱导型一氧化氮合成酶(hiNOS)启动子构建在带荧光素酶基因的载体pGL3-basic上, 构建成用荧光素酶为系统的启动子, 以研究载体p8.3iNOS. 结果显示, 肾母细胞肿瘤抑制因子(WT1)能够有效地抑制hiNOS启动子的转录; 且WT1的4个选择性剪接本的抑制效果有所不同, 其中WT1(-/-)在两种肝癌细胞(HepG2和Hep3B)中对hiNOS的表达均具有最强的抑制作用, 并且抑制效果具有剂量依赖性, 用Western blot检测结果进一步证实HepG2细胞中WT1(-/-)过量表达能下调hiNOS表达. 以上结果说明WT1在肝癌细胞中对人的hiNOS具有转录调节作用.     

The importance of enhancer methylation for epigenetic regulation of tumorigenesis in squamous lung cancer

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) is a subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). LUSC occurs at the bronchi, shows a squamous appearance, and often occurs in smokers. To determine the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of tumorigenesis, we performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation in tumor and adjacent normal tissues from LUSC patients. With the Infinium Methylation EPIC Array, > 850,000 CpG sites, including ~350,000 CpG sites for enhancer regions, were profiled, and the differentially methylated regions (DMRs) overlapping promoters (pDMRs) and enhancers (eDMRs) between tumor and normal tissues were identified. Dimension reduction based on DMR profiles revealed that eDMRs alone and not pDMRs alone can differentiate tumors from normal tissues with the equivalent performance of total DMRs. We observed a stronger negative correlation of LUSC-specific gene expression with methylation for enhancers than promoters. Target genes of eDMRs rather than pDMRs were found to be enriched for tumor-associated genes and pathways. Furthermore, DMR methylation associated with immune infiltration was more frequently observed among enhancers than promoters. Our results suggest that methylation of enhancer regions rather than promoters play more important roles in epigenetic regulation of tumorigenesis and immune infiltration in LUSC.Subject terms: Cancer genomics, Non-small-cell lung cancer