SOAT1 and viral infectious disease: INF-λ is mainly secreted by epithelial cells in response to the viral infection at mucosal sites (Zanoni et al., 2017). INFs protect host cells by activating signaling pathways, mainly the JAK/STAT pathway (Schindler et al., 1992; Darnell et al., 1994), which subsequently trigger the expression of ISGs (IFN-stimulated genes) that controls the viral infection (Katze et al., 2002).