SRA

The innate immune response is the first line of defense against pathogens, and factors that control this cellular response represent targets for treating both infectious and inflammatory diseases. Here, we reveal a novel role for the human helicase SETX, also previously implicated in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS4) and ataxia with oculomotor apraxia (AOA2), in controlling the magnitude of the antiviral response. Cells depleted for SETX and AOA2 patient-derived SETX-null cells show increased expression of antiviral mediators in response to infection. Mechanistically, this effect is achieved through SETX-mediated inhibition of RNAPII transcription of antiviral genes, and depends on SETX helicase activity. Our results suggest that SETX helps maintain the delicate balance between controlling viral infection and avoiding the potentially detrimental effects of an excessive antiviral response. More broadly, the observation that SETX can regulate the transcriptional activity of specific genes may have important implications for disorders where SETX function is compromised. Overall design: A549 cells that were transfected with either control non-targeting or SETX-specific siRNAs were infected with the Influenza A virus (A/PR/8/34(?NS1) strain) at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 3. 4 hours post infection, cells were collected and used to prepare ChIP libraries. Uninfected cells were used as controls.