2025
Sci Immunol. 2025 May 30;10(107):eado5986. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.ado5986. Epub 2025 May 30.
An activating Stat1 mutant disrupts normal STAT4 innate lymphocyte programs during viral infection
Lymphocyte Cell Biology Section, Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch (MIIB), National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. National Institutes of General Medical Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Lymphocyte Signaling Unit, MIIB, NIAMS, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Biodata Mining and Discovery Section, NIAMS, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Immunology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA. Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis Program, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA. Viral Immunity and Pathogenesis Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM), NIAID, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Division of Pediatric Allergy Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. Immunopathogenesis Section, LCIM, NIAID, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Fungal Pathogenesis Section, LCIM, NIAID, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Service type: Knock-in mice
Abstract
Interferonopathies drive autoimmunity but can also impair host responses to pathogens, including viral infections. To better understand viral susceptibility of patients with STAT1 gain-of-function (GOF) mutations, we generated conditional knockin mouse models to elucidate disease mechanisms and relevance of different immune subsets. Virally infected Stat1 GOF mice exhibited impaired early IFN-γ production from innate lymphocytes and lethality because of excess prolonged multicytokine production. The presence of the Stat1 GOF allele resulted in premature usage of interferon-stimulated gene factor 3 (ISGF3) over the normal STAT4-AP-1-dependent transcriptomic program in activated innate lymphocytes. Administration of anti-IFN-γ antibodies in wild-type (WT) mice after infection phenocopied Stat1 GOF mice presenting exaggerated inflammation despite viral control. Conversely, early administration of exogenous IFN-γ to infected Stat1 GOF mice prevented lethality and exaggerated cytokine response. Although Stat1 GOF mutations facilitate IFN-γ-mediated autoimmunity, early IFN-γ responses to viral infection via a normal STAT4 program were impaired, leading to overcompensated inflammatory responses in Stat1 GOF mice.
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