RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene I) is a cytosolic pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that can mediate induction of a type-I interferon (IFN1) response. RIG-I is an essential molecule in the

innate immune system The innate immune system or nonspecific immune system is one of the two main immunity strategies in vertebrates (the other being the adaptive immune system). The innate immune system is an alternate defense strategy and is the dominant immune s ...

for recognizing cells that have been infected with a virus. These viruses can include West Nile virus, Japanese Encephalitis virus, influenza A, Sendai virus, flavivirus, and

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

es. RIG-I is an ATP-dependent DExD/H box RNA helicase that is activated by immunostimulatory RNAs from viruses as well as RNAs of other origins. RIG-I recognizes short double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in the cytosol with a 5' tri- or di-phosphate end or a 5' 7-methyl guanosine (m7G) cap (cap-0), but not RNA with a 5' m7G cap having a ribose 2′-O-methyl modification (cap-1). These are often generated during a viral infection but can also be host-derived. Once activated by the dsRNA, the N-terminus caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARDs) migrate and bind with CARDs attached to mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein ( MAVS) to activate the signaling pathway for IFN1. Type-I IFNs have three main functions: to limit the virus from spreading to nearby cells, promote an innate immune response, including inflammatory responses, and help activate the

adaptive immune system The adaptive immune system (AIS), also known as the acquired immune system, or specific immune system is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized cells, organs, and processes that eliminate pathogens specifically. The ac ...

. Other studies have shown that in different microenvironments, such as in cancerous cells, RIG-I has more functions other than viral recognition. RIG-I orthologs are found in mammals, geese, ducks, some fish, and some reptiles. RIG-I is in most cells, including various innate immune system cells, and is usually in an inactive state. Knockout mice that have been designed to have a deleted or non-functioning RIG-I gene are not healthy and typically die embryonically. If they survive, the mice have serious developmental dysfunction. The stimulator of interferon genes STING antagonizes RIG-I by binding its N-terminus, probably as to avoid overactivation of RIG-I signaling and the associated

autoimmunity In immunology, autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells, tissues and other normal body constituents. Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an " autoimmune disease ...

Structure

RIG-I is encoded by the ''DDX58''

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

in humans. RIG-I is a helical ATP-dependent DExD/H box RNA helicase with a repressor domain (RD) on the

C-terminus The C-terminus (also known as the carboxyl-terminus, carboxy-terminus, C-terminal tail, carboxy tail, C-terminal end, or COOH-terminus) is the end of an amino acid chain (protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comp ...

that binds to the target RNA. Included on the N-terminus are two caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARDs) that are important for interactions with mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS). RIG-I is a member of the RIG-I like receptors (RLRs) that also includes Melanoma Differentiation-Associated protein 5 (MDA5) and Laboratory of genetics physiology 2 ( LGP2). RIG-I and MDA5 are both involved in activating MAVS and triggering an antiviral response.

Functions

As a Pattern Recognition Receptor

Pattern Recognition Receptors

Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) are a part of the innate immune system used for recognizing invaders. In a viral infection, a

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living Cell (biology), cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Viruses are ...

enters a cell, and it takes over the cell's machinery to self replicate. Once a virus has begun replication, the infected cell is no longer useful and potentially harmful to its host, and the host's immune system must be notified. RIG-I functions as a pattern recognition receptor and PRR's are the molecules that start the notification process. PRRs recognize specific Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMP). Once the PAMP is recognized, it can then lead to a signaling cascade producing an inflammatory response or an interferon response. PRRs are located in many different cell types, however most notably active in the

cells. In addition, they are located in many different parts of those cells, such as the cell membrane, endosomal membrane, and in the cytosol, to provide the most protection against many types of invaders (i.e., extracellular and intracellular microbes).

RIG-I PAMPs

RIG-I is located in the cytoplasm where its function is to recognize its PAMP, which are ideally short (<300 base pairs) dsRNA with a 5′ triphosphate (5′ ppp). However, it has been noted that while not ideal, and response is weakened, RIG-I can recognize 5′ diphosphate (5′pp). This ability is important as many viruses have evolved to evade RIG-I, so having the dual

ligand In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's el ...

opens up more doors for recognition. An example of viruses evolving to evade RIG-I is in the case of certain retroviruses, such as HIV-1, encode a protease that directs RIG-I to the lysosome for degradation, and thereby evade RIG-I mediated signaling. The dsRNA can come from single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses or from dsRNA viruses. The ssRNA viruses are not typically recognized as ssRNA, but through intermittent replication products in the form of dsRNA. RIG-I is also able to detect non-self 5′-triphosphorylated dsRNA transcribed from AT-rich dsDNA by DNA-dependent RNA polymerase III (Pol III). It is important to note, however, that the ligands of RIG-I are still being investigated and are controversial. Also notable, is that RIG-I can work together with MDA5 against viruses that RIG-I itself may not create a significant enough response. In addition, for many viruses, effective RIG-I-mediated antiviral responses are dependent on functionally active LGP2. Cells are synthesizing multiple types of RNA at all times, so it is important that RIG-I is not going to bind to those RNAs. Native RNA from inside the cell contains an N₁ 2'O-Methyl self RNA marker that deters RIG-I from binding. Another source of RIG-I PAMPS are double stranded RNA (dsRNA) byproducts of ''in vitro'' transcription reaction, which is used for mRNA-based drugs and vaccines production. ''In vitro'' transcribed RNAs initiated with 5′-triphosphorylated adenosine generate significantly greater levels of highly immunogenic dsRNAs, compared to their 5′-triphosphorylated guanosine counterparts.

Type-1 Interferon Pathway

RIG-I is a signaling molecule and is usually in a condensed resting state until it is activated. Once RIG-I is bound to its PAMP, molecules such as PACT and zinc antiviral protein short isoform (ZAPs), help keep RIG-I in an activated state which then keeps the caspase activation and recruitment domains (CARDs) ready for binding. The molecule will migrate to the mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein ( MAVS) CARD domain and bind. RIG-I CARD interactions have their own regulatory system. Although RIG-I expresses a CARD at all times, it must be activated by the ligand before it will allow both CARDs to interact with the MAVS CARD. This interaction will start the pathway to making proinflammatory cytokines and type-1 Interferon (IFN1; IFNα and IFNβ), which create an antiviral environment. Once the IFN1s leave the cell, they can bind to IFN1 receptors on the cell surface from which they came from, or other cells close by. This will upregulate the production of more IFN1s, boosting an antiviral environment. IFN1 also activates the JAK-STAT pathway, leading to the production of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs).

In Cancer Cells

Usually, RIG-I recognizes foreign RNA. However, it can sometimes recognize "self" RNAs. RIG-I has been shown to enable

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

cells (BrCa) to resist treatments and grow because of an IFN response to noncoding RNA. In contrast, RIG-I in other types of cancer, such as acute myeloid leukemia and hepatocellular carcinoma, can act as a tumor suppressor. If cancer causing viruses infect a cell, however, RIG-I can lead to cell death. Cell death can occur via

apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...

via the caspase-3 pathway, or through IFN-dependent T cells and natural killer cells.

Identification and Naming

In 2000, RIG-I was named by researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Hematology who identified novel genes that respond to all-''trans'' retinoic acid (ATRA) in leukemia cells. RIG-I and the other genes were assigned the temporary name of RIG (retinoic acid–induced gene) in the format of RIG-A, RIG-B etc by the group, however they performed no additional characterization on RIG-I.