IFN-Lambda (IFN-λ) Is Expressed in a Tissue-Dependent Fashion and Primarily Acts on Epithelial Cells In Vivo
By C. Sommereyns, S. Paul, P. Staeheli, T. Michiels. PLoS Pathogens, 2008
730 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Interferons (IFN) exert antiviral, immunomodulatory and cytostatic activities. IFN-α/β (type I IFN) and IFN-λ (type III IFN) bind distinct receptors, but regulate similar sets of genes and exhibit strikingly similar biological activities. We analyzed to what extent the IFN-α/β and IFN-λ systems overlap in vivo in terms of expression and response. We observed a certain degree of tissue specificity in the production of IFN-λ. In the brain, IFN-α/β was readily produced after infection with various RNA viruses, whereas expression of IFN-λ was low in this organ. In the liver, virus infection induced the expression of both IFN-α/β and IFN-λ genes. Plasmid electrotransfer-mediated in vivo expression of individual IFN genes allowed the tissue and cell specificities of the responses to systemic IFN-α/β and IFN-λ to be compared. The response to IFN-λ correlated with expression of the α subunit of the IFN-λ receptor (IL-28Rα). The IFN-λ response was prominent in the stomach, intestine and lungs, but very low in the central nervous system and spleen. At the cellular level, the response to IFN-λ in kidney and brain was restricted to epithelial cells. In contrast, the response to IFN-α/β was observed in various cell types in these organs, and was most prominent in endothelial cells. Thus, the IFN-λ system probably evolved to specifically protect epithelia. IFN-λ might contribute to the prevention of viral invasion through skin and mucosal surfaces.
Subfields: Immunology, Oncology
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/599728daabaf356e5635ce5f3711093634b3c366
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In Immunology
Citations in the corpus
- Shared and Distinct Functions of Type I and Type III Interferons (2019, neutral): “…and respond to type I IFNs (Delhaye et al., 2006; Drokhlyansky et al., 2017; Hwang and Bergmann, 2018), whereas type III IFNs do not appear to contribute substantially to the antiviral response within the CNS parenchyma (Lazear et al., 2015a; Sommereyns et al., 2008; Sorgeloos et al., 2013).”
- IL28B is associated with response to chronic hepatitis C interferon-α and ribavirin therapy (2009, background): “and in epithelial cells more than nonepithelial cell”
- Interferon-Stimulated Genes: A Complex Web of Host Defenses (2014, background): “In contrast, the high-affinity type III IFN receptor subunit (IFN-λ receptor 1, IFNLR1) is uniquely utilized by the type III IFNs, and its expression is restricted to epithelial cells (38).”