Authors
Qin Chen, Jingyi Wu, Fangbin Huang, Ke Shen, Wenli Zhan, Qingliang Zheng
Published in
Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular basis of disease. Pages 168430. Aug 24, 2026. Epub Aug 24, 2026.
Abstract
Type I interferons (IFN-I) are central to antiviral immunity, but their excessive or sustained production can result in immunopathological damage. RIG-I-like receptor (RLR) signaling is pivotal in regulating RNA virus-induced IFN-I responses and requires precise modulation to maintain immune homeostasis. Here, we report that viral infection induced elevated expression of Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 2 (EIF2AK2), which is an interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) with unclear role in the innate immunity. Using EIF2AK2-deficient mice and cells, we demonstrated that the loss of EIF2AK2 specifically enhances RNA virus-induced IFN-I production in macrophages and suppresses the replication of RNA virus vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and that this function is tightly associated with the N-terminal dsRNA binding domain of EIF2AK2. Mechanistically, EIF2AK2 competes with RIG-I for binding viral RNA, thereby inhibiting RIG-I activation. In addition, EIF2AK2 promotes the translocation of p-MLKL to mitochondria via recruiting VAMP8, leading to disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential and dysfunction of MAVS, ultimately inhibiting IFN-I production. These findings identify EIF2AK2 as a critical negative regulator of RLR-mediated innate immune response to RNA viruses via dual inhibitory mechanisms, and suggest its potential as a therapeutic target for controlling dysregulated IFN-I responses.
PMID:
42637152
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Aug 2026.
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