Transcriptional Regulation of the Interferon Genes

[摘要] Interferons (IFNs) are a class of regulatory cytokines capable of inducing a non-specific antiviral activity in target cells. Under normal conditions the synthesis of IFN is not usually detectable, but following exposure of cells to inducers such as virus or double stranded RNA, IFN is produced in large amounts. Expression of the IFN genes is tissue specific and comes about by the activation of transcription. Cis-acting virus responsive elements (VREs) responsible for transcriptional activation have been identified within the 5'-flanking sequences of the human IFN-alpha1 and -beta genes and show considerable sequence similarity.

[发布机构] University:University of Glasgow

[关键词] Genetics, Molecular biology