Catching viruses in the act of sabotage

Viruses are masters of sabotage, they can disable the cell’s antiviral defences and silence immune sensing systems—but this strategy can backfire. A collaborative study carried out by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the lab of Moritz Gaidt at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) uncovered how human immune cells can sense when viruses sabotage key cellular safeguards. They show that this hidden “backup alarm” triggers inflammation when viruses disable the cell’s defences. Their findings are published in the journal Science.

3D rendering of an immune cell fighting off a virus.

In a collaborative study between the laboratories of Russell Vance at the University of California, Berkeley and Moritz Gaidt at the IMP, researchers discovered a new way human immune cells detect viruses. Rather than recognising viral molecules, immune cells can detect when viruses sabotage key antiviral systems inside the cell. This interference is detected by the cell, which responds by triggering inflammation. The findings uncover a previously unknown layer of immune defence in humans and provide a roadmap for discovering additional pathways of this kind.

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Original Publication

B. C. Remick, J. Q. Mao, A. G. Manford, A. D. Gutierrez-Jensen, A. Wagner, M. Rape, G. McFadden, M. M. Rahman, M. M. Gaidt & R. E. Vance “Poxvirus attack of antiviral defense pathways unleashes an effector-triggered NF-κB response.” Science (2026). DOI: 10.1126/science.adw4937

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