Library · Molecule
Interferon
Make it clearer
Interferons are proteins the body uses as signals. They are cytokines, the molecules immune cells use to talk to one another, and their message is to turn up the body's defenses.
Against viruses, they work by getting in the way. To multiply, a virus has to enter the cell, copy its instructions, build its parts, assemble itself and get out. Interferons step in at many of those points, and they do it by switching on antiviral genes, that is, by telling the cell to build defenses. It is a signal that gets in the virus's way at many steps.
That is where RNase L comes in. It switches on when it detects double-stranded RNA, and it then destroys single-stranded RNA, which slows replication.
There are three subtypes, called alpha, beta and gamma. And the antiviral work is not all they do: they also help hold tumors back, and they activate natural killer cells and macrophages, two kinds of immune cells.
In brief
Interferons are proteins in the cytokine family, and they boost the immune response.
They act against viruses at many stages of replication, from entry to release, by switching on antiviral genes.
A signal that gets in the virus's way at many steps.
RNase L is activated by double-stranded RNA and degrades all single-stranded RNA, which slows viral replication.
There are three subtypes, alpha, beta and gamma; they also contribute to tumor suppression and activate natural killer cells and macrophages.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingInterferon, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated