I think our paper drew attention from immunologists and virologists because it describes a natural sensing mechanism of viral infection. This is a part of our immune responses and senses many different kind of viral infections.

Our paper discovers a new function of an RNA helicase, RIG-I, in antiviral innate immunity.

Almost all cells in the body have the potential to counteract a viral infection, known as "antiviral innate immunity." It has been hypothesized that cells have a specific sensor for the detection of a replicating viral component, namely viral double-stranded RNA, which is absent in uninfected cells. Our screening revealed that RIG-I is the long-sought sensor molecule and plays a critical role in initiating antiviral responses, including interferon production.

We have been analyzing how interferon genes are activated by viral infection. We started from proteins (transcription factors) which activate interferon genes and explored how these transcription factors are activated by viral infection.