The alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta) system is the first line of defense against viral infection and a critical link between the innate and adaptive immune responses. IFN-alpha/beta secretion is the hallmark of cellular responses to acute RNA virus infections. As part of their survival strategy, many viruses have evolved mechanisms to counteract the host IFN-alpha/beta response. Bovine vi...

Components of herpes simplex virus remained bound to the diploid cell membrane after nucleocapsid penetration into the cytosol. These components enabled the infected cells to induce interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells even when the infected cells were fixed by glutaraldehyde. Monoclonal antibodies directed against the major viral glycoprotein D could neutralize th...

Type III interferons (IFNs) (interleukin-28/29 or lambda interferon [IFN-lambda]) are cytokines with IFN-like activities. Here we show that several classes of viruses induce expression of IFN-lambda1 and -lambda2/3 in similar patterns. The IFN-lambdas were-unlike alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta)-induced directly by stimulation with IFN-alpha or -lambda, thus identifying type III IFNs as I...

OBJECTIVE To investigate interferon (IFN) alpha 2 b for treating patients with JAK2V617F positive polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocytosis (ET). METHODS Interferon alpha 2 b was used to treat patients with JAK2V617F positive PV and ET. In control group, hydroxyurea was used. Endpoint of study was to compare rates of hematological and molecular remission. RESULTS Patients in the i...

Cytoplasmic protein extracts from chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells contained an activity that altered the electrophoretic mobility of complexes formed between nuclear proteins and the transcriptional enhancers of interferon (IFN)-inducible genes. Exposure of CML cells to IFN-alpha diminished the effect of the CML cytoplasmic proteins on these nuclear protein-DNA complexes. The presence ...

A radioimmunoassay for human leukocyte interferon alpha (alpha IFN) has been developed, using tracer produced by recombinant DNA (IFLrA) and polyclonal rabbit antiserum against partially purified leukocyte IFN (PP alpha IFN). Sensitivity was 4 units/ml using sequential saturation. Only lymphoblastoid IFN showed complete cross reactivity. Serum alpha IFN concentrations were measured in normal su...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) constitute a family of innate receptors that recognize and respond to a wide spectrum of microorganisms, including fungi, bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Previous studies have demonstrated that ligands for TLR3 and TLR9 induce potent innate antiviral responses against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). However, the factor(s) involved in this innate protection is no...

Photosensitivity is a characteristic feature of some inflammatory skin diseases, including cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) and dermatomyositis (DM). Among the various hypotheses that explain this phenomenon, an aberrant sensitivity keratinocytes (KC) deserves more attention, especially in case UVB photosensitivity, as epidermis almost entirely absorbs UVB. However, underlying mechanisms UVB...

The efficacy of human alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) combined with 9-(2'-hydroxyethoxymethyl)guanine (acyclovir; ACV), (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine, 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine, or 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine on the inhibition of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication in human embryonic lung cells was analyzed by plaque reduction assays. IFN-alpha combined with 9-beta-D-arabi...

introduction: the aim of this study is to assess the therapeutic efficacy and safety of a particular brand of ifn alpha (pdferon b®) in combination with ribavirin (rlba) on iranian patients with chronic hepatitis c (chc). the addition of riba to the standard treatment with interferon (ifn) alpha led to an improvement in sustained virologic response (svr) from less than 20% with ifn monotherapy ...