Interferon and Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Excerpt

To the editor: Interferons are naturally occurring antiviral proteins that are rapidly produced during acute viral infections and provide an important host defense before the appearance of specific antibody (1). Re-exposure to antigen, including that of viral origin, affords the potential for immune-specific induction of an interferon (IFN-ᵧ) differing in several respects from that induced by viruses (1, 2). When acidified to less than pH 4.0 IFN-ᵧ is inactivated, whereas viral induced IFNs are stable for prolonged periods at pH 2.0 (2, 3).

In the January 1981 issue of Annals, Hall and coworkers (4) have evaluated the role of interferon