RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 C19ORF66 is an Interferon-Stimulated Gene (ISG) which Inhibits Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 050310 DO 10.1101/050310 A1 Weidong Xiong A1 Deisy Contreras A1 Joseph Ignatius Irudayam A1 Ayub Ali A1 Otto O. Yang A1 Vaithilingaraja Arumugaswami YR 2016 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/04/26/050310.abstract AB Innate immunity is the first line of defense against invading microbes1. The type I interferon (IFN) pathway plays a key role in controlling Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication2,3. We identified an IFN-α stimulated gene C19ORF66 that we term Suppressor of Viral Activity (SVA). Full length SVA-1 protein inhibits HIV-1 by blocking virion production. SVA splice variants truncated at the C-terminus and/or disrupted at the nuclear export signal (NES) lose antiviral activity and localize to nucleus, while full length SVA-1 co-localizes with HIV-1 p24 protein in the cytoplasmic compartment of infected cells. SVA-1 is structurally and functionally conserved across species, including mouse and chimpanzee. We provide the first description of the effector function of the gene SVA/C190RF66 as an innate immune factor with anti-HIV-1 activity.