TY - JOUR
T1 - Unravelling the convoluted biological roles of type I interferons (IFN-Is) in infection and immunity
T2 - A way forward for therapeutics and vaccine design
AU - Wijesundara, Danushka Kumara
AU - Xi, Yang
AU - Ranasinghe, Charani
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - It has been well-established that type I interferons (IFN-Is) have pleiotropic effects and play an early central role in the control of many acute viral infections. However, their pleiotropic effects are not always beneficial to the host and in fact several reports suggest that the induction of IFN-Is exacerbate disease outcomes against some bacterial and chronic viral infections. In this brief review, we probe into this mystery and try to develop answers based on past and recent studies evaluating the roles of IFN-Is in infection and immunity as this is vital for developing effective IFN-Is based therapeutics and vaccines. We also discuss the biological roles of an emerging IFN-I, namely IFN-s, and discuss its potential use as a mucosal therapeutic and/or vaccine adjuvant. Overall, we anticipate the discussions generated in this review will provide new insights for better exploiting the biological functions of IFN-Is in developing efficacious therapeutics and vaccines in the future.
AB - It has been well-established that type I interferons (IFN-Is) have pleiotropic effects and play an early central role in the control of many acute viral infections. However, their pleiotropic effects are not always beneficial to the host and in fact several reports suggest that the induction of IFN-Is exacerbate disease outcomes against some bacterial and chronic viral infections. In this brief review, we probe into this mystery and try to develop answers based on past and recent studies evaluating the roles of IFN-Is in infection and immunity as this is vital for developing effective IFN-Is based therapeutics and vaccines. We also discuss the biological roles of an emerging IFN-I, namely IFN-s, and discuss its potential use as a mucosal therapeutic and/or vaccine adjuvant. Overall, we anticipate the discussions generated in this review will provide new insights for better exploiting the biological functions of IFN-Is in developing efficacious therapeutics and vaccines in the future.
KW - Human immunodeficiency virus
KW - IFN-ε
KW - Interferon immunity
KW - Type I interferons
KW - Vaccine adjuvants
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84918829601&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00412
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00412
M3 - Article
SN - 1664-3224
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
JF - Frontiers in Immunology
IS - AUG
M1 - Article 412
ER -