Strong sustained type I IFN signaling acts cell intrinsically to impair IFNγ responses and cause tuberculosis susceptibility

Type I interferons (IFNs) have emerged as a major factor driving susceptibility to Mtb, but how type I IFNs impair immunity to Mtb is a key unresolved question. Here we show that an early effect of type I IFN during Mtb infection is the cell-intrinsic impairment of IFNγ signaling.

IFNγ signaling was selectively impaired in the subset of infected macrophages experiencing high and sustained levels of type I IFN signaling. Genetic elimination of RESIST, a recently described positive regulator of type I IFN production, specifically eliminated the high and sustained type I IFN response, fully restored IFNγ signaling, and rescued susceptibility to Mtb without affecting basal type I IFN responses. Our results demonstrate that strong and sustained type I IFN responses specifically and cell intrinsically impair responsiveness to IFNγ to cause susceptibility to Mtb.