IRF7 encodes interferon regulatory factor 7, a member of the interferon regulatory transcription factor (IRF) family. IRF7 has been shown to play a role in the transcriptional activation of virus-inducible cellular genes, including the type I interferon genes. In particular, IRF7 regulates many interferon-alpha genes.[1] Constitutive expression of IRF7 is largely restricted to lymphoid tissue, largely plasmacytoid dendritic cells, whereas IRF7 is inducible in many tissues. Multiple IRF7 transcript variants have been identified, although the functional consequences of these have not yet been established.[2]
The IRF7 pathway was shown to be silenced in some metastatic breast cancer cell lines, which may help the cells avoid the host immune response.[3] Restoring IRF7 to these cell lines reduced metastases and increased host survival time in animal models.
The IRF7 gene and product were shown to be defective in a patient with severe susceptibility to H1N1 influenza, while susceptibility to other viral diseases such as CMV, RSV, and parainfluenza was unaffected.[4]
↑Au WC, Yeow WS, Pitha PM (February 2001). "Analysis of functional domains of interferon regulatory factor 7 and its association with IRF-3". Virology. 280 (2): 273–82. doi:10.1006/viro.2000.0782. PMID11162841.
Pitha PM, Au WC, Lowther W, Juang YT, Schafer SL, Burysek L, Hiscott J, Moore PA (1999). "Role of the interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) in virus-mediated signaling and regulation of cell growth". Biochimie. 80 (8–9): 651–8. doi:10.1016/S0300-9084(99)80018-2. PMID9865487.
Zhang L, Pagano JS (January 2002). "Structure and function of IRF-7". Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research. 22 (1): 95–101. doi:10.1089/107999002753452700. PMID11846980.
Wathelet MG, Lin CH, Parekh BS, Ronco LV, Howley PM, Maniatis T (March 1998). "Virus infection induces the assembly of coordinately activated transcription factors on the IFN-beta enhancer in vivo". Molecular Cell. 1 (4): 507–18. doi:10.1016/S1097-2765(00)80051-9. PMID9660935.
Au WC, Moore PA, LaFleur DW, Tombal B, Pitha PM (October 1998). "Characterization of the interferon regulatory factor-7 and its potential role in the transcription activation of interferon A genes". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 273 (44): 29210–7. doi:10.1074/jbc.273.44.29210. PMID9786932.
Lu R, Au WC, Yeow WS, Hageman N, Pitha PM (October 2000). "Regulation of the promoter activity of interferon regulatory factor-7 gene. Activation by interferon snd silencing by hypermethylation". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 275 (41): 31805–12. doi:10.1074/jbc.M005288200. PMID10924517.
Paris MJ, Williams BR (October 2000). "Characterization of a 500-kb contig spanning the region between c-Ha-Ras and MUC2 on chromosome 11p15.5". Genomics. 69 (2): 196–202. doi:10.1006/geno.2000.6339. PMID11031102.
Smith EJ, Marié I, Prakash A, García-Sastre A, Levy DE (March 2001). "IRF3 and IRF7 phosphorylation in virus-infected cells does not require double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase R or Ikappa B kinase but is blocked by Vaccinia virus E3L protein". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276 (12): 8951–7. doi:10.1074/jbc.M008717200. PMID11124948.
Au WC, Yeow WS, Pitha PM (February 2001). "Analysis of functional domains of interferon regulatory factor 7 and its association with IRF-3". Virology. 280 (2): 273–82. doi:10.1006/viro.2000.0782. PMID11162841.
Lu R, Moore PA, Pitha PM (May 2002). "Stimulation of IRF-7 gene expression by tumor necrosis factor alpha: requirement for NFkappa B transcription factor and gene accessibility". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 277 (19): 16592–8. doi:10.1074/jbc.M111440200. PMID11877397.
Morin P, Bragança J, Bandu MT, Lin R, Hiscott J, Doly J, Civas A (March 2002). "Preferential binding sites for interferon regulatory factors 3 and 7 involved in interferon-A gene transcription". Journal of Molecular Biology. 316 (5): 1009–22. doi:10.1006/jmbi.2001.5401. PMID11884139.
Caillaud A, Prakash A, Smith E, Masumi A, Hovanessian AG, Levy DE, Marié I (December 2002). "Acetylation of interferon regulatory factor-7 by p300/CREB-binding protein (CBP)-associated factor (PCAF) impairs its DNA binding". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 277 (51): 49417–21. doi:10.1074/jbc.M207484200. PMID12374802.
Izmailova E, Bertley FM, Huang Q, Makori N, Miller CJ, Young RA, Aldovini A (February 2003). "HIV-1 Tat reprograms immature dendritic cells to express chemoattractants for activated T cells and macrophages". Nature Medicine. 9 (2): 191–7. doi:10.1038/nm822. PMID12539042.
Yang H, Lin CH, Ma G, Baffi MO, Wathelet MG (May 2003). "Interferon regulatory factor-7 synergizes with other transcription factors through multiple interactions with p300/CBP coactivators". The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 278 (18): 15495–504. doi:10.1074/jbc.M212940200. PMID12604599.