Shigella “Osp”pression of innate immunity

Interferons are potent antimicrobial effectors and thus an attractive target for pathogen interference. In this issue of Cell, Alphonse et al. reveal that the Shigella effectors OspC1 and OspC3 employ a surprising mechanism to block interferon signaling and attenuate antibacterial responses, thus securing their replicative niche.