Viral mimicry protects from infection when you're expecting

Samantha G Muccilli; Sonja M Best

doi:10.1016/j.chom.2023.06.005

Viral mimicry protects from infection when you're expecting

Cell Host Microbe. 2023 Jul 12;31(7):1078-1080. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.06.005.

Authors

Samantha G Muccilli¹, Sonja M Best²

Affiliations

¹ Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA; Cellular Biology Section, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
² Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 37442094
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2023.06.005

Abstract

Constitutive IFN-λ expression in the placenta protects the fetus from vertically transmitted viruses, but regulatory mechanisms are unknown. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Wickramage, VanWye et al. demonstrate that Alu RNAs within a microRNA cluster important for placental development mimic viral molecular patterns to mediate protection.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

MeSH terms

Female
Fetus
Humans
Interferon Lambda
MicroRNAs* / genetics
MicroRNAs* / metabolism
Placenta* / metabolism
Pregnancy

Substances

MicroRNAs
Interferon Lambda