Interferon type I

1itf :24-186 1au1B:22-187 2hif :24-182 The type-I interferons (IFN) are cytokines which play essential roles in inflammation, immunoregulation, tumor cells recognition, and T-cell responses.

They stimulate both macrophages and NK cells to elicit an anti-viral response, involving IRF3/IRF7 antiviral pathways,[4] and are also active against tumors.

[citation needed] IFN-α acts as a pyrogenic factor by altering the activity of thermosensitive neurons in the hypothalamus thus causing fever.

Few endogenous regulators have been found to elicit this important regulatory function, such as SOCS1 and Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP).

[7] The mammalian types are designated IFN-α (alpha), IFN-β (beta), IFN-κ (kappa), IFN-δ (delta), IFN-ε (epsilon), IFN-τ (tau), IFN-ω (omega), and IFN-ζ (zeta, also known as limitin).

[citation needed] From the 1980s onward, members of type-I IFN family have been the standard care as immunotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy.

To date, pharmaceutical companies produce several types of recombinant and pegylated IFNα for clinical use; e.g., IFNα2a (Roferon-A, Roche), IFNα2b (Intron-A, Schering-Plough) and pegylated IFNα2b (Sylatron, Schering Corporation) for treatment of hairy cell leukemia, melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, multiple myeloma, follicular and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Human IFNβ (Feron, Toray ltd.) has also been approved in Japan to treat glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, and melanoma.

The Cancer Genome Atlas PanCancer analysis also showed that copy number alteration of the IFN gene cluster is significantly associated with decreased overall survival.

In conclusion, the copy number alteration of the IFN gene cluster is associated with increased mortality and decreased overall survival in cancer.

To date, pharmaceutical companies produce several types of recombinant and pegylated IFNα for clinical use; e.g., IFNα2a (Roferon-A, Roche), IFNα2b (Intron-A, Schering-Plough) and pegylated IFNα2b (Sylatron, Schering Corporation) for treatment of hairy cell leukemia, melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, multiple myeloma, follicular and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Human IFNβ (Feron, Toray ltd.) has also been approved in Japan to treat glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, astrocytoma, and melanoma.

[1] By combining PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with type I interferons, researchers aim to tackle multiple resistance mechanisms and enhance the overall anti-tumor immune response.

The approach is supported by preclinical and clinical studies that show promising synergistic effects, particularly in melanoma and renal carcinoma.

The symptoms of these diseases fall in a wide clinical spectrum, and often resemble those of viral infections acquired while the child is in utero, although lacking any infectious origin.

[21] The aetiology is largely still unknown, but the most common genetic mutations are associated with nucleic acid regulation, leading most researchers to suggest these arise from the failure of antiviral systems to differentiate between host and viral DNA and RNA.