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Interferon regulatory factor 7, also known as IRF7, is a member of the interferon regulatory factor family of transcription factors.


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]


IRF7 has been shown to interact with IRF3.[5] Also, IRF7 has been shown to interact with Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP), which is a negative regulator for the antiviral pathway.[6]

See also


  1. Marié I, Durbin JE, Levy DE (November 1998). "Differential viral induction of distinct interferon-alpha genes by positive feedback through interferon regulatory factor-7". The EMBO Journal. 17 (22): 6660–9. doi:10.1093/emboj/17.22.6660. PMC 1171011. PMID 9822609.
  2. "Entrez Gene: IRF7 interferon regulatory factor 7".
  3. Bidwell (2012). "Silencing of Irf7 pathways in breast cancer cells promotes bone metastasis through immune escape". Nature Medicine. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  4. Ciancanelli MJ, Huang SX, Luthra P, Garner H, Itan Y, Volpi S, Lafaille FG, Trouillet C, Schmolke M, Albrecht RA, Israelsson E, Lim HK, Casadio M, Hermesh T, Lorenzo L, Leung LW, Pedergnana V, Boisson B, Okada S, Picard C, Ringuier B, Troussier F, Chaussabel D, Abel L, Pellier I, Notarangelo LD, García-Sastre A, Basler CF, Geissmann F, Zhang SY, Snoeck HW, Casanova JL (April 2015). "Infectious disease. Life-threatening influenza and impaired interferon amplification in human IRF7 deficiency". Science. 348 (6233): 448–53. doi:10.1126/science.aaa1578. PMC 4431581. PMID 25814066.
  5. 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. PMID 11162841.

Further reading

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