Type I IFN- a blunt spear in fighting HIV-1 infection

The IFN system is made of an heterogenous class of soluble mediators that interfere with the replication of all varieties of viruses and are specialized in coordinating host responses in a cell type-specific, but virus-non specific manner. The interferons (IFNs) are classified into three groups: type I or “viral IFN” (IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-ω, IFN-ɛ and IFN-κ), type II (IFN-γ), and type III (IFN-λ 1, IFN-λ 2 and IFN-λ 3), based on the structure of their receptors on the cell surface. Each type I IFN is encoded by a single gene with the exception of IFN-α, which comprises 13 subtypes in humans [1,2].
Source: Cytokine and Growth Factor Reviews - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Survey Source Type: research