Understanding Interferon Subtype Therapy for Viral Infections: Harnessing the Power of the Innate Immune System.

An inherent form of host protection from viruses lies in the ability to rapidly produce an antiviral class II family of alpha-helical cytokines (e.g. interferon, IFN) in response to virus exposure to immediately minimise damage from invading viruses and induce potent immunity, enabling crosstalk between the innate and adaptive immune systems of vertebrates. This review will focus on the early host immune responses of the type I and type III IFN families and the roles of the different subtype genes in viral infections and disease, highlighting influenza, herpes, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis viruses.
Source: Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Mini review Source Type: research