Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Hallmark of severe COVID-19 patients identified

A large team of researchers with members affiliated with a host of institutions in France has identified what they believe is a hallmark of severe COVID-19 patients. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group ...

Oncology & Cancer

How early-stage cancer cells hide from the immune system

One of the immune system's primary roles is to detect and kill cells that have acquired cancerous mutations. However, some early-stage cancer cells manage to evade this surveillance and develop into more advanced tumors.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

An immune flaw may cause West Nile virus's deadliest symptoms

Four out of five of people infected with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus (WNV) won't even know it—heartening news when you consider there's no vaccine to prevent the disease nor targeted medications to treat it. However, ...

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Interferon

Interferons (IFNs) are proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites—or tumor cells. They allow communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors.

IFNs belong to the large class of glycoproteins known as cytokines. Interferons are named after their ability to "interfere" with viral replication within host cells. IFNs have other functions: they activate immune cells, such as natural killer cells and macrophages; they increase recognition of infection or tumor cells by up-regulating antigen presentation to T lymphocytes; and they increase the ability of uninfected host cells to resist new infection by virus. Certain host symptoms, such as aching muscles and fever, are related to the production of IFNs during infection.

About ten distinct IFNs have been identified in mammals; seven of these have been described for humans. They are typically divided among three IFN classes: Type I IFN, Type II IFN, and Type III IFN. IFNs belonging to all IFN classes are very important for fighting viral infections.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA