Interferons: from molecular biology to man. Part 1. Genetics and molecular biology of the interferon system

In 1986, 29 years after the original papers on 'the interferon', Alick Isaacs' optimism and enthusiasm for this discovery has been more than justified and the scope of interferon research ranges from genetics and molecular biology to clinical trials in man. In this series of three articles I hope to explain the importance of interferons to these, and other, areas of science. Part 1 describes the genetics of the interferon system, how the genes are controlled, and the properties of their products. It will also outline some of the molecular changes that occur in the cell after the interaction of interferons with a specific cell-surface receptor. Part 2 describes how the interferon-induced changes in cellular RNA and protein synthesis can cause profound changes in cell behaviour, and Part 3 relates such functional changes in the cell to the interferon system in the whole animal and discusses the therapeutic potential of interferons given as antiviral or anticancer therapy.