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. 2004 Mar 5;303(5663):1529-31.
doi: 10.1126/science.1093616. Epub 2004 Feb 19.

Innate antiviral responses by means of TLR7-mediated recognition of single-stranded RNA

Sandra S Diebold  1 , Tsuneyasu Kaisho, Hiroaki Hemmi, Shizuo Akira, Caetano Reis e Sousa
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Free article

Innate antiviral responses by means of TLR7-mediated recognition of single-stranded RNA

Sandra S Diebold et al. Science. .
Free article

Abstract

Interferons (IFNs) are critical for protection from viral infection, but the pathways linking virus recognition to IFN induction remain poorly understood. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce vast amounts of IFN-alpha in response to the wild-type influenza virus. Here, we show that this requires endosomal recognition of influenza genomic RNA and signaling by means of Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) and MyD88. Single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) molecules of nonviral origin also induce TLR7-dependent production of inflammatory cytokines. These results identify ssRNA as a ligand for TLR7 and suggest that cells of the innate immune system sense endosomal ssRNA to detect infection by RNA viruses.

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Comment in

  • Immunology. After the toll rush.
    O'Neill LA. O'Neill LA. Science. 2004 Mar 5;303(5663):1481-2. doi: 10.1126/science.1096113. Science. 2004. PMID: 15001768 No abstract available.

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