Intracellular detection of viral nucleic acids.

Intracellular detection of viral nucleic acids.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2015 Mar 17;26:1-9
Authors: Sparrer KM, Gack MU
Abstract
Successful clearance of a microbial infection depends on the concerted action of both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Accurate recognition of an invading pathogen is the first and most crucial step in eliciting effective antimicrobial defense mechanisms. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made towards understanding the molecular details of how the innate immune system recognizes microbial signatures, commonly called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). For viral pathogens, nucleic acids-both viral genomes and viral replication products-represent a major class of PAMPs that trigger antiviral host responses via activation of germline-encoded innate immune receptors. Here we summarize recent advances in intracellular innate sensing mechanisms of viral RNA and DNA.
PMID: 25795286 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - March 17, 2015 Category: Microbiology Authors: Sparrer KM, Gack MU Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research