OASL - a new player in controlling antiviral innate immunity

The cellular innate immune system plays a crucial role in mounting the initial resistance to virus infection. It is comprised of various pattern-recognition receptors that induce type I interferon production, which further shapes the adaptive immunity. However, to overcome this resistance and promote replication, viruses have evolved mechanisms to evade this host innate immune response. Here we discuss a recently described mechanism of boosting the innate immunity by oligoadenylate synthetase-like (OASL) protein, which can potentially be used to overcome viral evasion and enhance innate immunity.