Interferon regulatory factor 7, also known as IRF7, is a member of the
interferon regulatory factor
Interferon regulatory factors (IRF) are proteins which regulate transcription of interferons (see regulation of gene expression). Interferon regulatory factors contain a conserved N-terminal region of about 120 amino acids, which folds into a s ...
family of
transcription factor
In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fu ...
s.
Function
IRF7 encodes interferon regulatory factor 7, a member of the interferon regulatory transcription factor (IRF) family. IRF7 has been shown to play a role in the transcriptional activation of
virus-inducible cellular genes, including the
type I interferon
The type-I interferons (IFN) are cytokines which play essential roles in inflammation, immunoregulation, tumor cells recognition, and T cell, T-cell responses. In the human genome, a cluster of thirteen functional IFN genes is located at the 9p2 ...
genes. In particular, IRF7 regulates many
interferon-alpha genes.
Constitutive expression of IRF7 is largely restricted to
lymphoid tissue, largely plasmacytoid dendritic cells, whereas IRF7 is inducible in many tissues. Multiple IRF7 transcript variants have been identified, although the functional consequences of these have not yet been established.
The IRF7 pathway was shown to be silenced in some metastatic breast cancer cell lines, which may help the cells avoid the host immune response. Restoring IRF7 to these cell lines reduced metastases and increased host survival time in animal models.
The IRF7 gene and product were shown to be defective in a patient with severe susceptibility to H1N1
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
, while susceptibility to other viral diseases such as CMV, RSV, and
parainfluenza
Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are the viruses that cause human parainfluenza. HPIVs are a paraphyletic group of four distinct single-stranded RNA viruses belonging to the ''Paramyxoviridae'' family. These viruses are closely associated with ...
was unaffected.
Interactions
IRF7 has been shown to
interact
Advocates for Informed Choice, dba interACT or interACT Advocates for Intersex Youth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using innovative strategies to advocate for the legal and human rights of children with intersex traits. The organizati ...
with
IRF3.
Also, IRF7 has been shown to interact with
Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP), which is a negative regulator for the antiviral pathway.
See also
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Interferon regulatory factors
References
Further reading
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External links
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Transcription factors
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