Peking University, Oct. 17: The research paper named “Activation of STAT6 by STING Is Critical for Antiviral Innate Immunity”, an academic result of Peking University prof. Jiang Zhengfan’s research group, was published on Cell on Oct. 14.

Viral infection can lead to chronic or paroxysmal contagious diseases, including virus hepatitis, AIDS, SARS and so on. The long-term “fight” between viruses and their hosts results in the complicated and elaborate immune system in human body, in which the innate immunity is the first line of defense against microbial infection.

Supported by the National Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of China and the National 973 Project, Prof. Jiang Zhengfan’s research group of State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research at PKU School of Life Sciences did a series of researches on the mechanism of innate immune signaling in response to virus infection. In 2009, they found a molecule named “ERIS” located at the endoplasmic reticulum which plays an important part in defense against virus. Based on ERIS, they found a new signaling pathway which connects innate immunity and adaptive immunity by activation of STAT6 (transcription factor) by ERIS recently.

Most former researches on STAT6 focus on autoimmune diseases and anaphylactic diseases, but Prof. Jiang Zhengfan’s group found an STAT6-dependent signaling pathway in the research on antiviral innate immunity. Viruses or cytoplasmic nucleic acids trigger ERIS (also named MITA/STING) to recruit STAT6 to the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to STAT6 phosphorylation. Phosphorylated STAT6 then dimerizes and translocates to the nucleus to induce specific target genes responsible for immune cell homing.

Prof. Jiang Zhengfan’s research group explained how viral infection leads to activation of STAT6 and how the signaling pathway work from different aspects and thus provided a new way of thinking in the study of the defense of immune system against microbial infection.

The first authors are Doctoral Candidate Chen Huihui, Sun Hui and You Fuping from Prof. Jiang Zhengfan’s laboratory and co-researchers include PKU Prof. Gu Jun, Chinese Academy Researcher (CAS) Researcher Qin Zhihai and Prof. Glen Barber from University of Miami.

Translated by: Xu Xinyi
Edited by: Cao Yixing
Sources: PKU News (Chinese)