Ten Strategies of Interferon Evasion by Viruses

Abstract

Viruses infecting vertebrate hosts must overcome the interferon (IFN)-mediated antiviral response to replicate and propagate to new hosts. The complex regulation of the IFN response allows viruses to antagonize IFN at multiple levels. However, no single strategy appears to be the golden ticket, and viruses have adopted multiple means to dampen this host defense. This Review does not exhaustively cover all mechanisms of viral IFN antagonism. Rather it examines the ten most common strategies that viruses use to subvert the IFN response with examples from publications appearing in the last 10 years of Cell Host & Microbe. The virus-host interactions involved in induction and evasion of IFN represent a fertile area of research due to the significant large number of host and viral products that regulate this response, resulting in an intricate dance between hosts and their pathogens to achieve an optimal balance between virus replication, host disease, and survival.

Figure 1

Examples of Viral Strategies of Evasion of Induction of IFN IFN-inducing pathways are shown with green arrows. Virus antagonistic pathways are represented by black lines and arrows. Numbers indicate the specific strategy described in the text.

Figure 2

Examples of Viral Strategies of Inhibition of IFN Signaling IFN signaling pathway is shown with green arrows. Virus antagonistic pathways are represented by black lines and arrows. Numbers indicate the specific strategy described in the text.

Figure 3

Examples of Viral Strategies of Inhibition of Host Gene Expression Host gene expression is shown with green arrows. Virus antagonistic pathways and virus protein expression are represented by black lines and arrows. Numbers indicate the specific strategy described in the text.