Type I IFN – A blunt spear in fighting HIV-1 infection

The IFN system is made of a 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