Dual oxidase 1 promotes antiviral innate immunity
Demba Sarr, Aaron D. Gingerich, Nuha Milad Asthiwi, Faris Almutairi, Giuseppe A. Sautto, Jeffrey W. Ecker, Tamás Nagy, Matthew B. Kilgore, Joshua D. Chandler, Ted M. Ross, Ralph A. Tripp, Balázs Rada
Abstract
Significance Influenza infections kill millions of people worldwide. Current prophylactic treatment options are limited due to viral strain–specific vaccinations and emerging drug resistance. It is important to discover new immune mechanisms that can fight the influenza virus. Our work presented here identifies such a mechanism. The Duox1 protein helps the airways to clear influenza virus and to reduce infection-related death and sickness in an animal model. Duox1 delays the infection process by directly targeting the virus. Unlike current vaccines, this mechanism is effective against several influenza strains. Our study identifies the function of the Duox1 gene and suggests that it has a therapeutic potential against influenza and potentially other respiratory pathogens, worth exploring in the future.