Congratulations to the Pyle Lab for their most recent publication in Molecular Cell

“The RIG-I receptor adopts two different conformations for distinguishing host from viral RNA ligands.”
Wenshuai Wang & Anna Marie Pyle (2022) Mol Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2022.09.029
 
RIG-I is an essential innate immune receptor for detecting and responding to infection by RNA viruses. RIG-I specifically recognizes the unique molecular features of viral RNA molecules and selectively distinguishes them from closely related RNAs abundant in host cells.

In this article using cryo-EM technique, Wang et al. show that RIG-I uses a domain unfolding event to bind strongly with target viral ligands and an alternative, enzymatically active conformation for sensing and discarding inappropriate host ligands, thereby explaining the molecular basis for selective antiviral sensing and the induction of autoimmunity upon RIG-I dysregulation.