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As an essential part of an individual’s initial defense against viruses and other pathogens that lead to illness and disease, a complex network of proteins and various molecules identifies and reacts to invaders, partly by detecting the genetic material of the offending pathogens and discerning it as “not self.” Up until now, most immune proteins identified by researchers are capable of recognizing either invading DNA or RNA — not both. 

Currently, a group of researchers led by Siyuan Ding, an assistant professor of molecular microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has uncovered a protein that, in numerous human cell types, can detect both double-stranded DNA and RNA in the cellular environment, where they should not be found, and activate an immune response. The protein, SAMD9, is among the very few molecules identified that can respond to both of these different genetic substances. 

The findings were published online on April 22 in Nature Communications.  

Prior to this study, little was understood about SAMD9. The researchers observed that mice devoid of the murine version of SAMD9 exhibited a higher viral load and a greater incidence of severe viral infections compared to those with a functioning protein. This outcome unveiled a novel role for SAMD9 — assisting in the defense against a variety of viral pathogens. Ding indicated that these results could open avenues for the creation of vaccines featuring components that activate SAMD9 to amplify the immune response prompted by the vaccine. 

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