Ifitm3 limits the severity of acute influenza in mice.

Interferon-induced transmembrane (IFITM) proteins are a family of viral restriction factors that inhibit the entry processes of several pathogenic viruses, including influenza A virus (IAV), in vitro. Here we report that IAV-infected knockout mice lacking the Ifitm locus on chromosome 7 exhibited accelerated disease progression, greater mortality, and higher pulmonary and systemic viral burdens as compared to wild type controls. We further observed that the phenotype of Ifitm3-specific knockout mice was indistinguishable from that of mice lacking the entire Ifitm locus. Ifitm3 was expressed by IAV target cells including alveolar type II pneumocytes and tracheal/bronchial respiratory epithelial cells. Robust Ifitm3 expression was also observed in several tissues in the absence of infection. Among murine Ifitm promoters, only that of Ifitm3 could be induced by type I and II interferons. Ifitm3 could also be upregulated by the gp130 cytokines IL-6 and oncostatin M on cells expressing appropriate receptors, suggesting that multiple cytokine signals could contribute to Ifitm3 expression in a cell or tissue-specific manner. Collectively, these findings establish a central role for Ifitm3 in limiting acute influenza in vivo, and provide further insight into Ifitm3 expression and regulation.

In-gel imaging of RNA processing using broccoli reveals optimal aptamer expression strategies.

RNA aptamers can be expressed in cells to influence and image cellular processes. Aptamer folding is maintained by inserting the aptamers into highly structured RNA scaffolds. Here, we show that commonly used RNA scaffolds exhibit unexpected instability and cleavage in bacterial and mammalian cells. Using an in-gel staining approach for rapid and simple detection of Spinach- or Broccoli-tagged RNAs in cells, we monitored the processing of RNAs tagged with scaffolded aptamers, revealing endonucleolytic cleavage, RNA instability, and poor expression. We reengineered a natural three-way junction structure to generate an alternative scaffold that enables stable aptamer expression in cells. This scaffold was used to create cassettes containing up to four Broccoli units, markedly enhancing the brightness of mammalian cells expressing cassette-tagged RNAs. These experiments describe methods for screening RNA cleavage events in cells and identify cell-compatible scaffolds that enable efficient tagging of RNAs with aptamers for cellular expression.