Butyrate Reprograms Expression of Specific Interferon-Stimulated Genes
Mahesh Chemudupati, Adam D. Kenney, Anna C. Smith, Robert J. Fillinger, Lizhi Zhang, Ashley Zani, Shan‐Lu Liu, Matthew Z. Anderson, Amit Sharma, Jacob S. Yount
Abstract
Butyrate is a lipid produced by intestinal bacteria. Here, we newly show that butyrate reprograms the innate antiviral immune response mediated by type I interferons (IFNs). Many of the antiviral genes induced by type I IFNs are repressed in the presence of butyrate, resulting in increased virus infection and replication. Our research demonstrates that metabolites produced by the gut microbiome, such as butyrate, can have complex effects on cellular physiology, including dampening of an inflammatory innate immune pathway resulting in a proviral cellular environment. Our work further suggests that butyrate could be broadly used as a tool to increase growth of virus stocks for research and for the generation of vaccines.