A key property of our innate immunity is the ability to discriminate between self, nonpathogenic and non-self, pathogenic molecules. Detection of pathogenic molecules is performed by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that specialize in the detection of pathogen- or microbe-associated molecular patterns. After detection of foreign molecular patterns, PRRs initiate signaling pathways associated with innate immunity. RIG-I (retinoic acid inducible gene 1) is a cytoplasmic PRR that responds to viral nucleic acids and activates downstream signaling. RIG-1 can also be activated by another molecule named PACT, even in the absence of viral nucleic acids. In their study, members of the Patel lab investigated whether RIG-1 could also be regulated by TRBP, a molecule related to PACT. They discovered that  TRBP inhibits RIG-I signaling, which  is drastically different from PACT-mediated RIG-I regulation. These results highlight a novel pathway and its dual regulation in the context of innate immunity. Read more about it here!