Immune evasion of SARS-CoV-2 from interferon antiviral system

The on-going pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has led to unprecedented medical and socioeconomic crises. Although the viral pathogenesis remains elusive, deficiency of effective antiviral interferon (IFN) responses upon SARS-CoV-2 infection has been recognized as a hallmark of COVID-19 contributing to the disease pathology and progress. Recently, multiple proteins encoded by SARS-CoV-2 have been shown to act as potential IFN antagonists with diverse possible mechanisms. Here, we summarize and discuss the strategies of SARS-CoV-2 for evasion of innate immunity (particularly the antiviral IFN responses), understanding of which will facilitate not only the elucidation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis but also the development of antiviral intervention therapies.