Journal
JOURNAL OF INTERFERON AND CYTOKINE RESEARCH
Volume 34, Issue 8, Pages 589-599Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/jir.2013.0158
Keywords
-
Funding
- U.S. National MS Society [4509A]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Type I interferons (IFNs) are important in innate and adaptive immunity. They are used to treat virus infections, cancer, and multiple sclerosis (MS). There are 5 type I IFN families in humans-IFN-alpha with 13 subtypes, plus IFN-beta, epsilon, kappa, and omega. Because their receptor binding affinities vary, these IFNs have different gene induction profiles and quite variable therapeutic effects. IFN-alpha subtypes may each be specific for certain viruses, but can be neurotoxic. IFN-beta induces IFN-alpha, plus has additional direct effects on target cells. IFN-beta was the first therapy approved that could change the course of MS. It has broader specificity than IFN-alpha, enhances cognition in MS, and may be neuroprotective and can potentially enhance fertility in women. Priming the IFN signaling system with an injection of IFN-beta can enhance subnormal type I IFN signals in MS. Many other commonly used drugs and vitamins may potentiate clinical benefits of IFN-beta.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available