[2] Due to the immunomodulatory properties of these proteins, they have been proposed as potentially therapeutically relevant to autoimmune diseases.
Virokines occupy binding sites on host receptors, thereby inhibiting access by signaling molecules.
[1][2] The term "virokine" was coined by National Institutes of Health virologist Bernard Moss.
[6] Much of the early work on virokines involved vaccinia virus, which was discovered to secrete proteins that promote proliferation of neighboring cells and block complement immune activity leading to inflammation.
[7] Similar observations have been made in the herpesvirus family; for example, Epstein-Barr virus encodes an interleukin protein with high sequence identity to the human interleukin-10, suggesting a recent evolutionary origin.