Haploid genome-wide screens for essential components and negative regulators of interferon lambda signaling in human cells

We undertook a unbiased genome-wide haploid genetic screen to identify new components in interferon lambda signaling. In addition, we performed a genome-wide screen to identify genes that repress spontaneous activation of interferon stimulated genes in the absence of interferon. Both of these screens were performed using a HAP1 cell line containing GFP reporter under the transcriptional regulation of the Interferon-Stimulated Response Element from IFIT2. We also overexpressed IL28RA (IFNLR1) in this cell line, in order to sensitize the cells to type III interferon