SMOC1 and viral infectious disease: Upon viral infection, infected cells secrete type I IFN α/β, and these IFNs are believed to protect other unaffected cells from viral infection by inducing the expression of many genes, some of which encode antiviral proteins, such as double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase [21], 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS) [22], and Mx proteins [23].