STAT2 deficiency and susceptibility to viral illness in humans.

Abstract

Severe infectious disease in children may be a manifestation of primary immunodeficiency. These genetic disorders represent important experiments of nature with the capacity to elucidate nonredundant mechanisms of human immunity. We hypothesized that a primary defect of innate antiviral immunity was responsible for unusually severe viral illness in two siblings; the proband developed disseminated vaccine strain measles following routine immunization, whereas an infant brother died after a 2-d febrile illness from an unknown viral infection. Patient fibroblasts were indeed abnormally permissive for viral replication in vitro, associated with profound failure of type I IFN signaling and absence of STAT2 protein. Sequencing of genomic DNA and RNA revealed a homozygous mutation in intron 4 of STAT2 that prevented correct splicing in patient cells. Subsequently, other family members were identified with the same genetic lesion. Despite documented infection by known viral pathogens, some of which have been more severe than normal, surviving STAT2-deficient individuals have remained generally healthy, with no obvious defects in their adaptive immunity or developmental abnormalities. These findings imply that type I IFN signaling [through interferon-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3)] is surprisingly not essential for host defense against the majority of common childhood viral infections.

• Authors: Sophie Hambleton, Stephen Goodbourn, Dan F Young, Paul Dickinson, Siti M B Mohamad, Manoj Valappil, Naomi McGovern, Andrew J Cant, Scott J Hackett, Peter Ghazal, Neil V Morgan, Richard E Randall
• Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A) Vol. 110 Issue 8 Pg. 3053-8 (Feb 19 2013) ISSN: 1091-6490 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 23391734 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• DNA Primers
• Interferon Type I
• RNA, Messenger
• STAT2 Transcription Factor
• STAT2 protein, human

Topics

• Base Sequence
• Cells, Cultured
• Child, Preschool
• DNA Primers
• Female
• Genetic Predisposition to Disease
• Humans
• Interferon Type I (metabolism)
• Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
• Pedigree
• RNA, Messenger (genetics)
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
• STAT2 Transcription Factor (genetics)
• Virus Diseases (genetics, metabolism)