Ubiquitination-mediated regulation of interferon responses

Abstract

Interferon cytokine family members shape the immune response to protect the host from both pathologic infections and tumorigenesis. To mediate their physiologic function, interferons evoke a robust and complex signal transduction pathway that leads to the induction of interferon-stimulated genes with both proinflammatory and antiviral functions. Numerous mechanisms exist to tightly regulate the extent and duration of these cellular responses. Among such mechanisms, the post-translational conjugation of ubiquitin polypeptides to protein mediators of interferon signaling has emerged as a crucially important mode of control. In this mini-review, we highlight recent advances in our understanding of these ubiquitin-mediated mechanisms, their exploitation by invading viruses, and their possible utilization for medical intervention.

Keywords::

• Ubiquitin
• interferon
• E3 ligase
• virus

Acknowledgements

The author expresses his sincere apologies to all colleagues whose work was not extensively cited due to space limitations. The editorial help from Dr L.B. King and support from Mari Lowe Center for Comparative Oncology and NIH/NCI grants CA142425 and CA092900 are gratefully acknowledged.

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.