BioCentury
ARTICLE | Targets & Mechanisms

Interfering with interferon

April 25, 2013 7:00 AM UTC

Type I interferon receptors are key factors that promote antiviral immunity, but two separate teams have found that elevated interferon signaling may actually be detrimental to the body's ability to fight persistent infections. Groups at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, Los Angeles showed that blocking type I interferon during the persistent stages of viral infections in mice can resolve the infections.1,2

One key implication from the findings is that researchers should re-evaluate how to use interferon in treating HCV, as it has important antiviral benefits in acute infections but may be damaging during persistent infection...