Viral

The innate antiviral immune response involves many different genes. Three different families of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) (toll-like (TLRs), Nod-like (NLRs), and RIG-I-like receptors) initiate innate immunity, the inborn general host response to common pathogens such as viruses. These receptors recognize and bind viral DNA and RNA, activating downstream signaling to induce the expression of inflammatory cytokines including alpha and beta interferons. Alpha and beta interferons mediate type-I interferon signaling that activates dendritic and natural killer cells as well as the adaptive immune response. Some viral nucleic acids bind to multiple PRRs, and each immune cell type expresses a specific set of PRRs.