How interferon throttles sterol synthesis in antiviral defense
Type I interferon couples viral sensing to down-regulation of the sterol pathway’s mevalonate–isoprenoid arm, limiting viral growth.
Source
Host defense against viral infection involves interferon mediated down-regulation of sterol biosynthesis
Study at a glance
- Design
- Animal / in-vitro — Macrophage time-series, lipidomics, IFN receptor knockouts, and murine CMV infection models
- N
- Multi-assay mouse/cell study — no single primary analytic N in stored text
- Population
- Primary bone-marrow–derived macrophages and mice (including IFNAR1/Tyk2 models)
- Outcome
- Interferon-mediated sterol-pathway down-regulation in antiviral defense
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Inspect source passages
How interferon throttles sterol synthesis in antiviral defense
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
40% of IFNγ down-regulated lipogenic transcripts related to the sterol pathway.
Of the IFNγ down-regulated transcripts, a significant proportion (14/35, 40%) were related to the sterol pathway, while fatty acid pathways were pre-eminent (6/35, 17%) in the up-regulated gene group ().
Free cholesterol fell 2–3-fold at 24 hpi.
In marked contrast, levels of free cholesterol, as well as its immediate precursor, zymosterol, 14-demethyl-lanosterol, and 7-dehydrocholesterol, were strongly reduced at 24 hpi (2–3-fold) and 48 hpi (4–6-fold) (–D).
What they did
Authors combined macrophage time-series expression, lipidomics, IFN receptor knockouts, statin/siRNA perturbations, and in vivo murine CMV infection to test whether interferon regulates sterol metabolism for antiviral defense.
What they found
Infection and type I/II IFN coordinately reduce sterol-pathway transcripts and metabolites via IFNAR1/Tyk2 signaling and lowered SREBP2. Antiviral effects of pathway blockade depend on mevalonate/geranylgeraniol, not cholesterol rescue.
The limits
What it doesn't show
This is murine CMV/macrophage mechanism work, not a human statin antiviral trial; branch-point enzymology still needs finer mapping.
Key terms
- Type I interferon
- IFN-α/β cytokines signaling through IFNAR to induce antiviral programs.
- Sterol biosynthesis
- Mevalonate pathway producing cholesterol and isoprenoid branches.
- Mevalonate–isoprenoid arm
- Pathway branch supplying prenylation lipids rather than cholesterol itself.
- IFNAR1
- Shared type I interferon receptor subunit required for IFN-α/β signaling.
- SREBP2
- Transcription factor coordinating sterol-pathway gene expression.
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Quiz yourself
Type I IFN antiviral coupling here mainly targets:
Common questions
Which immune signal links infection to sterol genes?
Type I interferon receptor signaling (IFNAR1/Tyk2).
Is cholesterol the antiviral metabolite?
No—mevalonate/geranylgeraniol rescue implicates the isoprenoid branch.
What happens to sterol genes after infection?
Coordinated modest down-regulation and lower sterol metabolites.
Which transcription factor falls?
Mature SREBP2 and Srebf2 transcription decrease in an IFNAR-dependent way.
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