Interferon: Nonviral Infections and Nonviral Inducers

Excerpt

Interferons are small, soluble proteins elaborated by cells infected by almost any of the ribonucleic acid (RNA)—or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)—containing viruses. Their presence has been detected in infected animals as well as in tissue cultures. The activity of the interferons is not virus-specific. When induced by one virus, this substance may inhibit the multiplication of a broad range of related and unrelated viruses. In this sense, interferons exert a "broad-spectrum" effect. However, they are cell-specific. That is, they act most effectively against viruses infecting the same species of cells from which they were derived. That interferons may play an important