301. The Interferons: Their Properties and Clinical Role — An Overview
- Author
-
Derek Crowther and Penella J. Woll
- Subjects
chemistry.chemical_classification ,On cells ,chemistry ,Interferon ,Secondary infection ,Hairy cell leukaemia ,medicine ,Embryo ,Biology ,Glycoprotein ,Virology ,Amino acid ,medicine.drug - Abstract
In 1957, two scientists working at the National Institute of Medical Research in London discovered that virus-infected cells became resistant to secondary infection. Drs. Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann found that influenza virus-infected chick embryo cells released a substance that conferred on cells of the same species resistance to a wide range of viruses. This substance was named interferon and is now known to be secreted in small amounts by most vertebrate cells when they are appropriately stimulated. Interferon was originally described as a glycoprotein containing about 150 amino acids. It is now known that several types of interferon exist with differing amino-acid composition and varying amounts of carbohydrate.
- Published
- 1991