Translational Medical Research Commons^™

Lack Of Interferon (Ifn) Regulatory Factor 8 Associated With Restricted Ifn-Γ Response Augmented Japanese Encephalitis Virus Replication In The Mouse Brain, Aarti Tripathi, Bhupendra Singh Rawat, Sankar Addya, Milan Surjit, Prafullakumar Tailor, Sudhanshu Vrati, Arup Banerjee

Kimmel Cancer Center Faculty Papers

Interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8), a myeloid lineage transcription factor, emerges as an essential regulator for microglial activation. However, the precise role of IRF8 during Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection in the brain remains elusive. Here, we report that JEV infection enhances IRF8 expression in the infected mouse brain. Comparative transcriptional profiling of whole-brain RNA analysis and validation by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) reveals an impaired interferon gamma (IFN-g) and related gene expression in Irf8 knockout (Irf82/2)-infected mice. Further, Ifng knockout (Ifng2/2) mice exhibit a reduced level of Irf8. Both Ifng2/2 and Irf82/2 mice exhibit significantly reduced levels of activated …