ISG20
Description
The ISG20 (interferon stimulated exonuclease gene 20) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 15.
Interferon-stimulated gene 20 kDa protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ISG20 gene.
ISG20 is an interferon-induced antiviral exoribonuclease that primarily targets single-stranded RNA. It exhibits antiviral activity against RNA viruses, including hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), and yellow fever virus (YFV). While ISG20 can degrade viral RNAs for some viruses, its inhibition of others, like chikungunya virus (CHIKV), involves inhibiting the translation of viral proteins. ISG20 exerts translational control over a wide range of non-self RNA substrates while preserving endogenous transcripts. This activity is linked to its localization in cytoplasmic processing bodies. ISG20 may also serve as a master regulator of over a hundred interferon-stimulated genes, leading to the inhibition of viral genome translation. Additionally, ISG20 might play roles in the maturation of snRNAs and rRNAs, as well as in ribosome biogenesis.
ISG20 is also known as CD25, HEM45.
