Manage Human MxA Protein

Human MxA protein (Myxovirus resistance protein 1), the product of the MX1 gene, is a 76-kDa protein consisting of 662 amino acid residues and belonging to the dynamic superfamily of large GTPase.

MxA protein plays an important role in antiviral activity in cells against a wide variety of viruses. These include:

Influenza
Parainfluenza
Measles
Coxsackie
Hepatitis B virus
Thogoto virus

The viruses are inhibited by MxA protein at an early stage in their life cycle, soon after host cell entry and before genome amplification.

The mouse Mx1 protein (mouse analog of human MxA protein) accumulates in the cell nucleus where it associates with nuclear bodies and inhibits influenza and Thogoto viruses known to replicate in the nucleus.

The human MxA protein accumulates in the cytoplasm and endoplasmic reticulum as well. The membrane compartment of endoplasmatic reticulum seems to provide an interaction platform that facilitates viral target recognition.

MxA appears to detect viral infection by sensing and trapping nucleocapsid-like structures. As a consequence, the viral components become unavailable for the generation of new virus particles.

The expression of viral MxA protein is induced exclusively and in a dose-dependent manner by IFN-alpha and IFN-beta, but not by IFN-gamma, IL-1, TNF-alpha or other cytokines.

In clinical diagnostics, MxA protein may offer advantages as a marker for viral infection over the other induced proteins such as 2‘, 5‘-oligoadenylate synthetase, because of its very low basal concentration and long half-life.

Several clinical studies have reported on the possible use of MxA protein expression:

In peripheral blood mononuclear cells as a marker for distinguishing viral from bacterial disease
As a reliable marker for type I IFN bioavailability during IFN treatment of chronic viral hepatitis and multiple sclerosis.

Myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA) can also be used as a marker of the bioactivity of interferon-beta (IFN-beta) therapy in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Two to forty percent of IFN-beta-treated multiple sclerosis (MS) patients develop IFN-beta-neutralizing antibodies with subsequent attenuation of MxA protein induction.
MxA ELISA could be used for the assessment of raised neutralizing antibodies.