| Popis: |
Interferon (IFN), and in specific, type I interferon, has the distinction of being the first cytokine, or as we now recognize, family of cytokines to be discovered. Interferon was first described by Isaacs and Lindenmann in 1957 [1] as a transferable factor obtained from virally infected chick amniochorion that “interfered” with subsequent viral replication in uninfected cultures. For the first two decades after its discovery, this role for interferon was explored from a multitude of angles, but the emphasis was on the antiviral roles of this substance. Only latter did the pleiotropic nature of the functions of IFN become appreciated, with discovery of its roles in cell growth regulation and immune modulation. This early stage of interferon research (and which, indeed continues today at a more mechanistic, molecular level) can be thought of as the “pass interference” stage of interferon research. |
