The innate immune system is responsible for reacting to viral infections through recognition of various viral components. Like toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), MDA5 recognizes double-stranded (ds) RNA which is a molecular pattern indicative of viral infection. MDA5 and its relative RIG-1 recognize different types of dsRNA, with MDA5 recognizing poly (I:C). MDA5 is a member of the DEAD/DEAH-box RNA helicase family, which all contain the conserved DEAD motif of Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp. DEAD box proteins are implicated in a number of cellular processes involving RNA secondary structure alteration - translation initiation, nuclear and mitochondrial splicing, and ribosome and spliceosome assembly. Based on their distribution patterns, some members of this family are believed to be involved in embryogenesis, spermatogenesis, and cellular growth and division. When stimulated by dsRNA, MDA5 recruits the adaptor protein VISA and ultimately activates transcription factors such as interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) and NF-kB. MDA5 is also upregulated in response to treatment with beta-interferon (IFNB) and a protein kinase C-activating compound, mezerein (MEZ).
Immunohistochemistry-Paraffin: MDA5 Antibody
Bao's group created detailed expression pattern profiles of human pneumovirus-induced gene networks in airway epithelial cells with the MDA5 antibody1. Another research group from the Netherlands also employed the MDA5 antibody to generate similar comprehensive profiles but theirs were done in human epidermis from psoriasis patients2. Liao et al used the MDA5 antibody to evaluate the role of RIG-1 in pneumoviral infection3. The MDA5 antibody allowed Sato’s group to identify the major autoantigen in patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis (C-ADM) and rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease4. The MDA5 antibody was also used in experiments from a Taiwanese laboratory that identified TBK1-associated protein in endolysosomes (TAPE) as a novel RIG-1-like receptor (RLR) pathway regulator5.
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