Type I and Type III Interferons - Induction, Signaling, Evasion, and Application to Combat COVID-19

Overview

Journal Cell Host Microbe

Publisher Cell Press

Specialties Infectious Diseases
Microbiology

Date 2020 May 29

PMID 32464097

Citations 532

Authors

Annsea Park

Akiko Iwasaki

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Without approved antiviral therapeutics or vaccines to this ongoing global threat, type I and type III interferons (IFNs) are currently being evaluated for their efficacy. Both the role of IFNs and the use of recombinant IFNs in two related, highly pathogenic coronaviruses, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, have been controversial in terms of their protective effects in the host. In this review, we describe the recent progress in our understanding of both type I and type III IFN-mediated innate antiviral responses against human coronaviruses and discuss the potential use of IFNs as a treatment strategy for COVID-19.

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