Effect of Type-I Interferon on Retroviruses

Abstract

Type-I interferons (IFN-I) play an important role in the innate immune response to several retroviruses. They seem to be effective in controlling the in vivo infection, though many of the clinical signs of retroviral infection may be due to their continual presence which over-stimulates the immune system and activates apoptosis. IFN-I not only affect the immune system, but also operate directly on virus replication. Most data suggest that the in vitro treatment with IFN-I of retrovirus infected cells inhibits the final stages of virogenesis, avoiding the correct assembly of viral particles and their budding, even though the mechanism is not well understood. However, in some retroviruses IFN-I may also act at a previous stage as some retroviral LTRs posses sequences homologous to the IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE). When stimulated, ISREs control viral transcription. HIV-1 displays several mechanisms for evading IFN-I, such as through Tat and Nef. Besides IFN-α and IFN-β, some other type I IFN, such as IFN-τ and IFN-ω, have potent antiviral activity and are promising treatment drugs.

Multiple sclerosis‐associated retrovirus, Epstein‐Barr virus, and vitamin D status in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis

“…While most MS patients are phenotypically RRMS, it remains to be addressed whether the same finding between MSRV DNA copy number and vitamin D level is found with other types of MS such as primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS). Although it has been indicated that type I IFNs affect the terminal stages of the retroviral cycle, the present cross sectional study cannot rule out a potential influence of treatment on MSRV DNA copy numbers in these patients due to the small number of patients with each type of therapy, the type of interferon and its dosage, differences in treatment duration between patients, and lack of drug naïve patients.…”

Use of recombinant interferon omega in feline retrovirosis: From theory to practice

“…The in vitro effects of IFN-I on human retroviruses have been extensively studied. Generally, results from most studies have shown that retroviral protein synthesis is not affected, and suggest that IFN affects the latter stages of the viral cycle, preventing correct assembly or the release of viral particles (review in Gómez-Lucía et al, 2009). Unfortunately, few studies have focused on the effect of this cytokine on feline retroviruses (Rogers et al, 1972;Jameson and Essex, 1983;Yamamoto et al, 1986;Tanabe and Yamamoto, 2001;Collado et al, 2007).…”

Efficacy of antiviral chemotherapy for retrovirus-infected cats

“…107,109 Thereby IFNs prevent the spread of virus from infected cells and aid in the clearance of virus infection. 107 Human IFNs have been manufactured by recombinant DNA technology and are available commercially.…”