Gamma interferon (IFNγ) was discovered in 1965 as an antiviral activity in white blood cell cultures stimulated with the lymphocyte mitogen phytohemagglutinin (1). At that time, IFNγ, as was the case with the much earlier discovered type I IFNs, was thought to strictly function as an antiviral. It was noted, however, that IFNγ was more sensitive than type I IFNs to extremes of pH and temperatur...

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing in incidence, and a complete cure remains elusive. While immune-checkpoint antibodies are promising, interferon-based immunotherapy has been disappointing. Tryptophan metabolism, which produces immunosuppressive metabolites, is enhanced in RCC. Here we show indolamine-2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) expression, a kynurenine pathway enzyme, is increased not only...

Theiler's virus causes a persistent infection and a demyelinating disease of mice which is a model for multiple sclerosis. Susceptibility to viral persistence maps to several loci, including the interferon gamma locus. Inactivating the gene coding for the interferon gamma receptor makes 129/Sv mice susceptible to persistent infection and clinical disease, whereas inactivating the interferon gam...

Background: Brucellosis is the major bacterial zoonoses of global importance caused by Brucella spps. FCγRIIA receptor plays a central role in phagocytosis of IgG2-opsonized bacteria. FCγRIIA exhibits allelic polymorphisms with different capacities for binding IgG2 and phagocytosis. Cells expressing Fc γ RIIa-H131, bind more efficiently to complexes of IgG2 than those expressi...

The gamma interferon assay is used to identify Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected animals. It has been suggested that regulatory mechanisms could influence the sensitivity of the test when it is performed with cells from cattle and that the neutralization of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in vitro would increase the gamma interferon responses. To investigate the regulatory mechanisms ...

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), xianfanghuomingyin (XFHM) is used to treat autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here, we studied the mechanisms underlying its treatment effects, especially its anti-inflammatory effects in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. We found that cartilage destruction and pannus formation were alleviated by treatment with XFHM. Th...

Lymph node cells (LNC) from mice infected with Trypanosoma brucei contain macrophage-like cells that inhibit interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) expression (M. Sileghem, A. Darji, R. Hamers, M. Van De Winkel, and P. De Baetselier, Eur. J. Immunol. 19:829-835, 1989). Evidence that gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) is actively involved in (i) the inhibition of IL-2R expression and (ii) the generation of su...

Sustained gene delivery of interferon (IFN) γ can be an effective treatment, but our previous study showed high levels of IFNγ-induced adverse events, including the loss of body weight. These unwanted events could be reduced by target-specific delivery of IFNγ after in vivo gene transfer. To achieve this, we selected the heparin-binding domain (HBD) of extracellular superoxide dismutase as a mo...