page_title: Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein
section_title: Structure
hierarchical_section_title: Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein / Structure
caption_attribution_description: English: Schematic representation of MAVS gene. Ribosome recognition sites for translation are located at position 1 and position 142 on the MAVS gene, highlighted by the yellow band.
context_page_description: Mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein is a protein that is essential for antiviral innate immunity. MAVS is located in the outer membrane of the mitochondria, peroxisomes, and endoplasmic reticulum. Upon viral infection, a group of cytosolic proteins will detect the presence of the virus and bind to MAVS, thereby activating MAVS. The activation of MAVS leads the virally infected cell to secrete cytokines. This induces an immune response which kills the host's virally infected cells, resulting in clearance of the virus.
context_section_description: MAVS is also known as IFN-β promoter stimulator I (IPS-1), caspase activation recruitment domain adaptor inducing I FN-β(CARDIF), or virus induced signaling adaptor (VISA). MAVS is encoded by a MAVS gene. MAVS is a 540 amino acid protein that consists of three components, a N terminal caspase activation recruitment domain (CARD), a proline rich domain, and a transmembrane C terminal domain (TM). 
  After the MAVS gene has been transcribed into RNA, ribosomes can translate the MAVS protein from two different sites. The initial translation site generates the full-length MAVS protein. The alternative translation site generates a shorter protein, termed as “miniMAVS” or short-MAVS (sMAVS). sMAVS is a 398 amino acid MAVS protein that lacks the CARD domain. This is significant because the CARD domain is where two cytosolic proteins bind to activate MAVS, signaling that there is a virus present in the cell.
caption: Schematic representation of MAVS gene. Ribosome recognition sites for translation are located at position 1 and position 142 on the MAVS gene, highlighted by the yellow band.
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