Structural mechanism of the activation of RIG-I by viral RNA (A13)

• Subject Area: Virology
• Term: from 2005 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5483103

The ATPase RIG-I senses the presence of viral RNA in the cytoplasm and initiates a signal transduction cascade that leads to stimulation of the innate immune response. We have obtained first structural insights into recognition of viral RNA by RIG-I. In this proposal we want to derive a complete structural mechanism of activation of RIG-I by viral RNA. In collaboration we address by structural, biochemical and in vivo functional approaches, how RIG-I binds viral RNA and how RNA and ATP binding induce a signaling conformation in RIG-I that leads to stimulation of the innate immune response.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 455: Viral Functions and Immunomodulation
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Karl-Peter Hopfner