An essential role for the antiviral endoribonuclease, RNase-L, in antibacterial immunity.

Type I interferons were discovered as the primary antiviral cytokines and are now known to serve critical functions in host defense against bacterial pathogens. Accordingly, established mediators of interferon antiviral activity may mediate previously unrecognized antibacterial functions. RNase-L is the terminal component of an RNA decay pathway that is an important mediator of interferon-induced antiviral activity. Here we identify a novel role for RNase-L in the host antibacterial response. RNase-L-/- mice exhibited a dramatic increase in mortality following

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Li XL, Ezelle HJ, Kang TJ, Zhang L, Shirey KA, Harro J, Hasday JD, Mohapatra SK, Crasta OR, Vogel SN, Cross AS, Hassel BA