Interferon in viral liver diseases: pharmacological aspects

In 1957, two English investigators, Alick Isaacs and Jean Lindenmann made a very important discovery. They observed that when a virus species colonized cells in animals, this invasion interfered with the ability of other viruses, without any association with the former, to produce simultaneous infection. Both investigators observed that the substance responsible for the inhibition was secreted by the infected cells and called it interferon. They also observed that this protein did not directly interact with the virus, but induced the infected cells and surrounding cells to produce other proteins, which were in turn able to block the multiplication of the invading virus.