DOUBLE-STRANDED RNA AND THE INTERFERON SYSTEM

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The overall goal of this project is to understand the mechanisms of transcriptional signaling by double-stranded RNA. the expression of several interferon-inducible genes is directly induced by double-stranded RNA. We will investigate how double-stranded RNA regulates the transcription of genes. For this purpose, the cis-acting sequences required for the effects of double-stranded RNA will be identified and the cognate trans-acting factors which mediate this induction will be analyzed. Another aim of the project is to identify cellular proteins which specifically bind double-stranded RNA. These proteins will be purified, their cDNA clones will be isolated, and their putative roles is transcriptional signaling by double-stranded RNA will be evaluated. the proposed studies will provide a better understanding of the regulation of expression of double-stranded RNA-inducible genes which encode many important regulatory proteins such as interferons, interleukins, and cell adhesion molecules. Our studies also reveal the nature of overlap between the signal transduction pathways used by interferons and double-stranded RNA for inducing transcription of the same genes.