Multifaceted activities of type I interferon are revealed by a receptor antagonist.

ABSTRACT: Type I interferons (IFNs), including various IFN-α isoforms and IFN-β, are a family of homologous, multifunctional cytokines. IFNs activate different cellular responses by binding to a common receptor that consists of two subunits, IFNAR1 and IFNAR2. In addition to stimulating antiviral responses, they also inhibit cell proliferation and modulate other immune responses. We characterized various IFNs, including a mutant IFN-α2 (IFN-1ant) that bound tightly to IFNAR2 but had markedly reduced binding to IFNAR1. Whereas IFN-1ant stimulated antiviral activity in a range of cell lines, it failed to elicit immunomodulatory and antiproliferative activities. The antiviral activities of the various IFNs tested depended on a set of IFN-sensitive genes (the "robust" genes) that were controlled by cano

SUBMITTER: Levin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4311876 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature