Hantaviruses primarily infect human endothelial cells (ECs) and cause two highly lethal human diseases. Early addition of Type I interferon (IFN) to ECs blocks hantavirus replication and thus for hantaviruses to be pathogenic they need to prevent early interferon induction. PHV replication is blocked in human ECs, but not inhibited in IFN deficient VeroE6 cells and consistent with this, infecti...

Type-I interferons (IFN-I) play an important role in the innate immune response to several retroviruses. They seem to be effective in controlling the in vivo infection, though many of the clinical signs of retroviral infection may be due to their continual presence which over-stimulates the immune system and activates apoptosis. IFN-I not only affect the immune system, but also operate directly...

Although the role of type I interferon (IFN) in the protection against viral infections has been known and studied for decades, its role in other immunologically relevant scenarios, including bacterial infections, shock, autoimmunity, and cancer, is less well defined and potentially much more complicated.

The family Bunyaviridae contains more than 350 viruses that are distributed throughout the world. Most members of the family are transmitted by arthopods, and several cause disease in man, domesticated animals and crop plants. Despite being recognized as an emerging threat, details of the virulence mechanisms employed by bunyaviruses are scant. In this article we summarise the information curre...

Th e hypothesis that type I interferon plays a central role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has gained growing support in recent years [1-4]. Th e early data from the 1970s demonstrating increased functional interferon activity in lupus patient sera have been confi rmed and extended using current technologies that permit detection of the broad gene expression program i...

Type I interferon (IFN) signaling leads to transcription and translation of key IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), whose protein products exhibit anti-tumorigenic, anti-viral, and immunomodulatory functions [1-3]. These responses are triggered by the interaction of type I IFNs (IFNα, IFNβ, IFNω) with a unique cell surface receptor composed by two subunits: IFNα receptor 1 (IFNAR1) and IFNAR2 [1-3]. A...

The genus Phlebovirus of the family Bunyaviridae contains a number of emerging virus species which pose a threat to both human and animal health. Most prominent members include Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), sandfly fever Naples virus (SFNV), sandfly fever Sicilian virus (SFSV), Toscana virus (TOSV), Punta Toro virus (PTV), and the two new members severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome vi...