News tagged with interferon
New anti-viral drug shows promise for dramatic improvement in hepatitis C treatment
Adding a direct acting anti-viral drug to the standard treatment regimen for hepatitis C significantly increases the cure rate in the most difficult to treat patients, according to a research report published Monday in the ...
Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Aug 08, 2010 |
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Adding steroid drug to MS treatment may reduce disease activity
Using a steroid drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) in addition to an MS drug may reduce the amount of disease activity more than using the MS drug alone, according to a study that will be presented as part of the Late-breaking ...
Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
Apr 30, 2009 |
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New discovery gives tuberculosis vaccine a shot in the arm
A new article appearing in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology may lead to improvements in the efficacy of the current tuberculosis vaccine. Specifically, a team of Italian researchers discovered a new ...
Biology /
Feb 26, 2009 |
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New treatment option for patients with chronic hepatitis C
A new combination therapy of daily consensus interferon (CIFN) and ribavirin is effective for some people with chronic hepatitis C (HCV) who do not respond to standard therapy. The treatment works particularly well in interferon-sensitive ...
Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 28, 2009 |
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Researchers identify new method to selectively kill metastatic melanoma cells
(PhysOrg.com) -- An international team of researchers has identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma - a cancer that is highly resistant ...
Aug 03, 2009 |
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Study shows link between influenza virus and fever
One feature of the "new influenza" is a sudden rise in temperature. Up to now it was not exactly understood how this reaction occurs. Scientists at the University of Bonn and the Technical University of Munich, Germany, have ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Experimental immune-boosting drug worsens TB in mice
An experimental drug that boosts production of the immune system protein interferon worsens tuberculosis (TB) in mice, according to scientists from the National Institutes of Health. The drug acts indirectly ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Apr 12, 2010 |
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Gamma interferon a wake-up call for stem cell response to infection
Most of the time, the body's blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells remain dormant, with just a few producing blood cells and maintaining a balance among the different types.
Medicine & Health / Medical research
Jun 09, 2010 |
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Macavity wasn't there! How absent reoviruses kill cancer
Reoviruses are successfully being used in clinical trials to treat patients with cancer. Not only does the virus cause cancer cells to die, it also forces them to release pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, which in ...
Feb 21, 2011 |
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US panel gives nod to Merck hepatitis C drug
A US government advisory committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to urge the Food and Drug Administration to approve a new drug made by Merck to fight hepatitis C, a disease which attacks the liver.
Medicine & Health / Medications
Apr 27, 2011 |
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Study finds twenty percent of children with MS don't respond to first-line treatment
Researchers from the National Network of Pediatric MS Centers of Excellence, in the first retrospective study of the response of children with multiple sclerosis to standard, or first-line, therapies, found that one-fifth ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jan 26, 2011 |
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Interferon
Interferons (IFNs) are proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of pathogens—such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites—or tumor cells. They allow communication between cells to trigger the protective defenses of the immune system that eradicate pathogens or tumors.
IFNs belong to the large class of glycoproteins known as cytokines. Interferons are named after their ability to "interfere" with viral replication within host cells. IFNs have other functions: they activate immune cells, such as natural killer cells and macrophages; they increase recognition of infection or tumor cells by up-regulating antigen presentation to T lymphocytes; and they increase the ability of uninfected host cells to resist new infection by virus. Certain host symptoms, such as aching muscles and fever, are related to the production of IFNs during infection.
About ten distinct IFNs have been identified in mammals; seven of these have been described for humans. They are typically divided among three IFN classes: Type I IFN, Type II IFN, and Type III IFN. IFNs belonging to all IFN classes are very important for fighting viral infections.
For more information about Interferon, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
