| Popis: |
Interferon has been regarded for a long time only as an inducible antiviral protein released by virus-infected cells. However, a great variety of antigens of bacterial origin (1), lectins (2), or other substances, can induce interferon in animals or white blood suspensions. This observation greatly complicates the relatively simple original concept on the role of these substances in acute or chronic infections. In the present state of knowledge interferons can be divided into two main cat gories: Type I interferon is produced in virus-infected B lymphocytes (3) or other somatic cells. Although leukocyte interferon is different from the fibroblast variant in molecular weight and antigenic structure (4–6), they are all pH resistant and heat-sensitive. Type II interferon is released by antigen-sensitized T lymphocytes after restimulation by the same antigen or lectins. In contrast, this variant is heat-resistant, but acid-labile (Table 1). |
