Virologica Sinica Journal Cover Design Service (flavivirus infection)

Virologica Sinica

09 March 2020

The Restrictome of Flaviviruses

Lionel Berthoux

10.1007/s12250-020-00208-3

Flaviviruses, including the dengue, Zika, West Nile, tick-borne encephalitis and yellow fever viruses (DENV, ZIKV, WNV, TBEV and YFV, respectively), are a genus of mostly arthropod-borne RNA viruses that cause a range of pathologies in humans. The success of productive infection of human cells by flaviviruses depends in part on the antiviral activity of a heterogeneous group of cellular antiviral proteins called restriction factors. Restriction factors are the effector proteins of the cell-autonomous innate response against viruses, an immune pathway that also includes virus sensors as well as intracellular and extracellular signal mediators. In this issue, Prof. Lionel Berthoux reviewed the recent progress toward the identification and characterization of flavivirus restriction factors and summarized several important unanswered questions in the restriction of flaviviruses. The cover image shows early flavivirus infection stages affected by IFN-I-inducible restriction factors.