IRF7 and viral infectious disease: We further elucidated that the early pDC IRF7-mediated response accelerates type II IFN (IFNγ) responses via natural killer (NK) cell activation, thus positioning pDCs as a cell type that regulates the interplay between type I and type II IFN responses in the control of these viral infections, an immune axis that is independent of other sources of type I IFN or pDC-derived NF-κB-induced cytokines.