Antiviral innate immune response receptor RIG-I (DDX58)

Innate immune receptor which acts as a cytoplasmic sensor of viral nucleic acids and plays a significant role in sensing viral infection and in the activation of a cascade of antiviral responses including the induction of type I interferons and proinflammatory cytokines. In addition to the 5'-triphosphate moiety, blunt-end base pairing at the 5'-end of the RNA is quite essential.

Overhangs at the non-triphosphorylated end of the dsRNA RNA don't have any significant impact on its activity. A 3'overhang at the 5'triphosphate end decreases and any 5'overhang at the 5' triphosphate end abolishes its activity.