The Viruses
Julius P. Kreier in Infection, Resistance, and Immunity, 2022
Interferons are a family of proteins produced by host cells in response to a variety of stimuli including viral infection. The formation of double stranded viral RNA within the infected cell induces the formation of interferons. Interferons may induce an antiviral state within many cells in the body. The production of interferons is a basic defense mechanism of animals against viral infections. There are three distinct types of interferons (alpha, beta, and gamma). Alpha and beta interferons bind to specific cell receptors and cause cells to produce proteins that have antiviral properties. For example, 2–5A synthetase causes the activation of nucleases that mediate degradation of viral RNAs. Gamma interferon, which is produced by leukocytes, causes the activation of macrophages and the production of antiviral cytokines which amplify the antiviral immune response.
Conventional Pharmacological Strategies, Investigational Drugs, and Immunotherapies for COVID–19
Srijan Goswami, Chiranjeeb Dey in COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, 2022
Interferons are immunomodulatory chemicals (cytokines) that may be used as a non-specific antiviral agent. Interferon-α and interferon-β are major pharmacological candidates among others that have shown significant response in the management of COVID-19 patients and are still under clinical trials. The binding of interferon-α and interferon-β to their specific receptors (INF-αR and INF-βR, respectively) leads to the phosphorylation of several transcription factors including STAT-1. The phosphorylated STAT-1 gets translocated into the nucleus where it associates with interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). This association leads to immunomodulatory and antiviral effects and thus interferes with the viral replication process. Due to a lack of convincing data, the use of interferons for the treatment of COVID-19 patients is not recommended at present (Zhou, 2020; Interferons, 2020; Alavi Darazam et al., 2021).
Chemotherapy in pregnancy
Hung N. Winn, Frank A. Chervenak, Roberto Romero in Clinical Maternal-Fetal Medicine Online, 2021
Several interferon compounds have now been developed and marketed for the treatment of many kinds of diseases and malignancies. A thorough discussion of the fetal and neonatal effects of each of these drugs is beyond the scope of this chapter. However, there have been several reviews and case reports suggesting that interferon alpha appears to be associated with the delivery of normal and healthy infants (112–114). Mubarak et al. reported on the use of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia beginning in the first trimester (115). Although one child was born with transient thrombocytopenia, all three infants were without abnormalities and developing appropriately. It should be noted that there have been reports of maternal postpartum cardiomyopathy developing in women who have been treated with interferon prior to pregnancy (116).
Patients with dermatomyositis shared partially similar transcriptome signature with COVID-19 infection
Published in Autoimmunity, 2023
Yiying Yang, Jie Song, Hongjun Zhao, Huali Zhang, Muyao Guo
Interferon is a cytokine produced by monocytes and lymphocytes, which has the effects of anti-viral, anti-tumor, anti-infection and immune regulation. Interferon (IFN) family can be divided into three classes, consisting of type I IFN, type II IFN, and type III IFN [29]. The etiology of DM is still unclear. However, type I IFN signal pathway is strongly associated with the pathogenesis of DM [30–32]. DM patients showed an increased expression of the type I IFN-inducible genes in blood, muscle and skin [33–36]. In addition, type I IFN-inducible genes were positively correlated with the disease activity of DM [33, 35]. Type I IFN mainly includes IFNαand β, produced by macrophages and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). IFN can activate JAK-STAT pathway by phosphorylation of STAT 1 and 2 via binding with the receptors [29].
Gender trend of monkeypox virus infection
Published in Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy, 2023
Aliya Orassay, Ansal Diassova, Alan Berdigaliyev, Dongsheng Liu, Zhandaulet Makhmutova, Amr Amin, Yingqiu Xie
Poxviruses target host innate response pathways mediated by interferons and chemokines. They have the ability to inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that regulate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) expression. Several studies revealed the role of steroid hormones in the virulence of poxviridae which the MPXV belongs to. One study by Reading et al. (2003) showed that the Poxvirus A44L gene (which encodes the 3β-HSD enzyme) is responsible for steroid hormone production corresponding to the immunosuppression and associating with the virulence of the virus [19]. The deletion of this gene may elevate the levels of IFN-γ [19]. It is known that interferons activate the innate and adaptive immune response that would combat the viral infection. However, according to Harris et al. (2018), poxviruses have evolved to encode interferon-binding proteins that neutralize secreted interferon after binding, which prevents INFs from association with cell-surface IFNAR1, and IFNAR2 receptors [20].
Paracentral Acute Middle Maculopathy in A Young Girl Treated with Interferon-Beta for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Published in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, 2023
Chiara Giuffrè, Sara Syed, Sasa Pockar, Jane L Ashworth, Laura R Steeples
Interferon alpha (IFN-α) and interferon beta (IFN-β) are established therapies for various malignancies, viral infections (particularly hepatitis C) and immune-mediated disorders including multiple sclerosis.1 Retinopathy is a recognised complication of IFN treatment. The most common features are cotton wool spots (CWS) and flame-shaped retinal haemorrhages, typically radiating from the optic nerve.2 We describe a case of IFN-β retinopathy in a paediatric patient with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-positive advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Of interest, we identified paracentral acute middle maculopathy (PAMM). PAMM is a SD-OCT finding characterized by hyper-reflective band-like lesions spanning the level of the inner nuclear layer (INL) in the acute phase with subsequent evolution to atrophy. PAMM is presumed to be caused by ischemic injury and is associated with OCT-angiography (OCT-A) flow disruption in the deep capillary plexus (DCP).3,4 To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported description of PAMM associated with IFN-β retinopathy.
Related Knowledge Centers
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