Guangzhou, March 2025 — The Immunology team at the Affiliated Zhangzhou Hospital of Fujian Medical University, in collaboration with the School of Life Sciences at Anhui Agricultural University, has published a study titled "RNA-Binding Protein Roq Regulates Drosophila STING Antiviral Immune Response." The research reveals the key regulatory role of the RNA-binding protein Roq in the antiviral immune response of Drosophila, offering new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of the STING signaling pathway and the maintenance of immune homeostasis in animals.
The STING (Stimulator of Interferon Genes) pathway is an essential antiviral defense mechanism in the innate immune system of animals. In mammals, STING mediates the production of type I interferons and inflammatory cytokines, serving as an important sensor of viral DNA. While Drosophila, as an invertebrate model, lacks the mammalian type I interferon system, its STING pathway still exhibits antiviral functions. This study systematically reveals, for the first time, how the RNA-binding protein Roq finely regulates STING signaling activity by controlling the stability of STING mRNA, preventing excessive immune responses.
The research team discovered that the Roq protein specifically binds to Sting mRNA through its ROQ domain, recruits the CCR4/NOT deadenylase complex, and promotes the deadenylation and degradation of Sting mRNA, thereby negatively regulating the STING signaling pathway. Viral infections induce the expression of Roq, a process dependent on the STING/NF-κB signaling pathway, forming a negative feedback loop that ensures the moderation and stability of the immune response.
This discovery not only deepens our understanding of the regulation of the STING pathway in invertebrates but also provides potential insights into mammalian immune regulation. In the future, this mechanism may be explored to develop new antiviral strategies and contribute to the development of antiviral drugs and immunotherapies.
This research was published online in Cell Investigation (March 2025 issue), marking a significant advancement by Chinese scholars in the field of basic immunology.
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