Mimicry by a viral RHIM

Functional amyloids have recently attracted much attention due to their involvement in signalling pathways, with hybrid amyloid formation showcasing a key role in necroptosis. In this issue of EMBO Reports , Sunde and colleagues [1][Pham CLL, 2019] unveil that hybrid amyloids are central to necroptosis more broadly, uncovering the amyloidal nature of viral‐induced necrosome assemblies. They also prove that the mechanism by which murine cytomegalovirus unleashes necroptosis also relies on hybrid amyloid assembly by viral proteins, akin to that used by host cells. This study presents a way to selectively inhibit necroptosis in which amyloid assembly can be exploited further as a potential therapeutic target.