TY - JOUR
T1 - Context Is Key
T2 - Delineating the Unique Functions of IFNα and IFNβ in Disease
AU - Fox, Lindsey E.
AU - Locke, Marissa C.
AU - Lenschow, Deborah J.
N1 - Funding Information:
LEF was supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral research training grant (T32 CA009547) (https:// www.nih.gov/). MCL was supported by a predoctoral research training grant (T32 AI007163) and by an F31 fellowship (AI149999-01A1) (Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award) from the NIH (https://www. nih.gov/). DJL was supported by the NIH (R01 AI127513 and R21 AI135490) (https://www.nih.gov/).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Fox, Locke and Lenschow.
PY - 2020/12/21
Y1 - 2020/12/21
N2 - Type I interferons (IFNs) are critical effector cytokines of the immune system and were originally known for their important role in protecting against viral infections; however, they have more recently been shown to play protective or detrimental roles in many disease states. Type I IFNs consist of IFNα, IFNβ, IFNϵ, IFNκ, IFNω, and a few others, and they all signal through a shared receptor to exert a wide range of biological activities, including antiviral, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and immunomodulatory effects. Though the individual type I IFN subtypes possess overlapping functions, there is growing appreciation that they also have unique properties. In this review, we summarize some of the mechanisms underlying differential expression of and signaling by type I IFNs, and we discuss examples of differential functions of IFNα and IFNβ in models of infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity.
AB - Type I interferons (IFNs) are critical effector cytokines of the immune system and were originally known for their important role in protecting against viral infections; however, they have more recently been shown to play protective or detrimental roles in many disease states. Type I IFNs consist of IFNα, IFNβ, IFNϵ, IFNκ, IFNω, and a few others, and they all signal through a shared receptor to exert a wide range of biological activities, including antiviral, antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and immunomodulatory effects. Though the individual type I IFN subtypes possess overlapping functions, there is growing appreciation that they also have unique properties. In this review, we summarize some of the mechanisms underlying differential expression of and signaling by type I IFNs, and we discuss examples of differential functions of IFNα and IFNβ in models of infectious disease, cancer, and autoimmunity.
KW - IFNα subtypes
KW - IFNβ
KW - autoimmunity
KW - cancer
KW - infection
KW - type I interferons
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098749572&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fimmu.2020.606874
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2020.606874
M3 - Review article
C2 - 33408718
AN - SCOPUS:85098749572
SN - 1664-3224
VL - 11
JO - Frontiers in immunology
JF - Frontiers in immunology
M1 - 606874
ER -