Identification of a FOXO3/IRF7 circuit that limits inflammatory sequelae of antiviral responses (ChIP-Seq)

We predict that a member of the forkhead family of transcription factors, FOXO3, is a negative regulator of a subset of antiviral genes. This prediction was validated using macrophages isolated from Foxo3-null mice. Genome-wide location analysis combined with gene deletion studies identified the Irf7 gene as a critical target of FOXO3. FOXO3 was identified as a negative regulator of Irf7 transcription. Our data suggest that the FOXO3-IRF7 regulatory circuit represents a novel mechanism for establishing the requisite set points in the interferon pathway. Overall design: C57BL/6 mice were obtained from Jackson Laboratories. Foxo3-/- mice in the FVB background were obtained from MMRRC and were backcrossed to C57BL/6 mice at least 5 times to generate congenic mice. C57BL/6 Foxo3+/- heterozygotes were intercrossed to generate Foxo3-/- mice. Mice were maintained at the animal facility of the Institute for Systems Biology and used at 8–12 weeks of age. All animals were housed and handled according to the approved protocols of University of Washington and Institute for Systems Biology''s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees.