The human restriction factor MX1 induces the sequestration of influenza A virus ribonucleoprotein complexes

November 20, 2025

Caroline Goujon’s team has recently reported in a study published in PNAS that the human restriction factor MX1 most potently inhibits human influenza A viruses during the late stages of replication. MX1 appears to sense trafficking viral ribonucleoproteins (vRNPs) en route to the plasma membrane, transiently associates with them, and induces their retrograde transport via dynein and the microtubule network toward a perinuclear region near the microtubule-organizing center (MTOC), where the vRNPs remain sequestered in a irreversible manner.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418935122