Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF5)

Interferon regulatory factor 5 is a member of the interferon regulatory factor (IRF) family, a group of transcription factors with diverse roles, including virus-mediated activation of interferon, and modulation of cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and immune system activity. Members of the IRF family are characterized by a conserved N-terminal DNA-binding domain containing tryptophan (W) repeats. Alternative splice variants encoding different isoforms exist.

Barnes et al. (2002) determined that herpes simplex virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, and NDV can activate IRF5 to induce varying amounts of different subtypes of biologically active IFNA. They found that, in addition to IFNA, IRF5 stimulates transcription of numerous inflammatory proteins in a virus-specific manner.