Group 1 innate lymphoid-cell-derived interferon-γ maintains anti-viral vigilance in the mucosal epithelium

The oropharyngeal mucosa serves as a perpetual pathogen entry point and a critical site for viral replication and spread. In the latest issue of Immunity, Shannon and team show that oral mucosa ILC1s restrict viral replication in the epithelium, patrol the basal layers of the oral epithelium at steady state, produce tonic IFN-γ, upregulating antiviral genes in the epithelium, and prime uninfected tissue to restrict viral replication.