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Interferon regulatory factors

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Interferon regulatory factors ( IRF ) are proteins which regulate transcription of interferons (see regulation of gene expression ). Interferon regulatory factors contain a conserved N-terminal region of about 120 amino acids , which folds into a structure that binds specifically to the IRF-element (IRF-E) motifs, which is located upstream of the interferon genes . Some viruses have evolved defense mechanisms that regulate and interfere with IRF functions to escape the host immune system. For instance, the remaining parts of the interferon regulatory factor sequence vary depending on the precise function of the protein. The Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus, KSHV , is a cancer virus that encodes four different IRF-like genes; including vIRF1, which is a transforming oncoprotein that inhibits type 1 interferon activity. In addition, the expression of IRF genes is under epigenetic regulation by promoter DNA methylation .

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30-558: IRFs primarily regulate type I IFNs in the host after pathogen invasion and are considered the crucial mediators of an antiviral response. Following a viral infection, pathogens are detected by Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs), including various types of Toll-like Receptors (TLR) and cytosolic PRRs, in the host cell. The downstream signaling pathways from PRR activation phosphorylate ubiquitously expressed IRFs ( IRF1 , IRF3 , and IRF7 ) through IRF kinases , such as TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1). Phosphorylated IRFs are translocated to

60-528: A cluster on chromosome 9. IFN-α is also made synthetically as medication in hairy cell leukemia. The International Nonproprietary Name (INN) for the product is interferon alfa . The recombinant type is interferon alfacon-1 . The pegylated types are pegylated interferon alfa-2a and pegylated interferon alfa-2b . Recombinant feline interferon omega is a form of cat IFN-α (not ω) for veterinary use. The IFN-β proteins are produced in large quantities by fibroblasts . They have antiviral activity that

90-423: A high and a low affinity component. These receptors are related predominantly by sequence similarities in their extracellular portions that are composed of tandem Ig-like domains. The structures for the extracellular domains of the receptors for interferon types, I, II, and III are all known. Type II cytokine receptors are tyrosine-kinase-linked receptors. The intracellular domain of type II cytokine receptors

120-590: A major role in the regulation of cellular responses linked to oncogenesis . In addition to autoimmune diseases and cancers, IRFs are also found to be involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases, such as hepatic steatosis , diabetes , cardiac hypertrophy , atherosclerosis , and stroke . Interferon type I 1itf :24-186 1au1 B:22-187 2hif :24-182 The type-I interferons (IFN) are cytokines which play essential roles in inflammation , immunoregulation , tumor cells recognition, and T-cell responses. In

150-1087: A more extensive characterization of avian genomes. Functional lizard type I IFNs can be found in lizard genome databases. Turtle type I IFNs have been purified (references from 1970s needed). They resemble mammalian homologs. The existence of amphibian type I IFNs have been inferred by the discovery of the genes encoding their receptor chains. They have not yet been purified, or their genes cloned. Piscine (bony fish) type I IFN has been cloned first in zebrafish. and then in many other teleost species including salmon and mandarin fish. With few exceptions, and in stark contrast to avian and especially mammalian IFNs, they are present as single genes (multiple genes are however seen in polyploid fish genomes, possibly arising from whole-genome duplication). Unlike amniote IFN genes, piscine type I IFN genes contain introns, in similar positions as do their orthologs, certain interleukins. Despite this important difference, based on their 3-D structure these piscine IFNs have been assigned as Type I IFNs. While in mammalian species all Type I IFNs bind to

180-539: A single receptor complex, the different groups of piscine type I IFNs bind to different receptor complexes. Until now several type I IFNs (IFNa, b, c, d, e, f and h) has been identified in teleost fish with as low as only one subtype in green pufferfish and as many as six subtypes in salmon with an addition of recently identified novel subtype, IFNh in mandarin fish. Interferon receptor Type II cytokine receptors , also commonly known as class II cytokine receptors, are transmembrane proteins that are expressed on

210-716: A specific cell surface receptor complex known as the IFN-α receptor ( IFNAR ) that consists of IFNAR1 and IFNAR2 chains. Type I IFNs are found in all mammals, and homologous (similar) molecules have been found in birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish species. IFN-α and IFN-β are secreted by many cell types including lymphocytes ( NK cells , B-cells and T-cells ), macrophages, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, osteoblasts and others. They stimulate both macrophages and NK cells to elicit an anti-viral response, involving IRF3/IRF7 antiviral pathways, and are also active against tumors . Plasmacytoid dendritic cells have been identified as being

240-402: Is effectively treated with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class of antidepressants. Interferonopathies are a class of hereditary auto-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases characterised by upregulated type 1 interferon and downstream interferon stimulated genes. The symptoms of these diseases fall in a wide clinical spectrum, and often resemble those of viral infections acquired while

270-537: Is highly variable across tissue types with some receptors being ubiquitously expressed and some receptors only expressed in specific tissues. The interferon receptor is a molecule displayed on the surface of cells which interacts with extracellular interferons. Class II cytokine receptors bind type I, type II, and type III interferons. Type I interferons play important roles in both the adaptive and innate immune responses, prevent proliferation of pathogens, and have antiviral activities. Type II interferons help to modulate

300-847: Is involved mainly in innate immune response. Two types of IFN-β have been described, IFN-β1 ( IFNB1 ) and IFN-β3 ( IFNB3 ) (a gene designated IFN-β2 is actually IL-6 ). IFN-ε, -κ, -τ, and -ζ appear, at this time, to come in a single isoform in humans, IFNK . Only ruminants encode IFN-τ, a variant of IFN-ω. So far, IFN-ζ is only found in mice, while a structural homolog, IFN-δ is found in a diverse array of non-primate and non-rodent placental mammals. Most but not all placental mammals encode functional IFN-ε and IFN-κ genes. . IFN-ω, although having only one functional form described to date ( IFNW1 ), has several pseudogenes : IFNWP2 , IFNWP4 , IFNWP5 , IFNWP9 , IFNWP15 , IFNWP18 , and IFNWP19 in humans. Many non-primate placental mammals express multiple IFN-ω subtypes. This subtype of type I IFN

330-825: Is known to be important. Few endogenous regulators have been found to elicit this important regulatory function, such as SOCS1 and Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interacting Protein (AIP). The mammalian types are designated IFN-α (alpha), IFN-β (beta), IFN-κ (kappa), IFN-δ (delta), IFN-ε (epsilon), IFN-τ (tau), IFN-ω (omega), and IFN-ζ (zeta, also known as limitin). Of these types, IFN-α, IFN -ω, and IFN-τ can work across species. The IFN-α proteins are produced mainly by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). They are mainly involved in innate immunity against viral infection. The genes responsible for their synthesis come in 13 subtypes that are called IFNA1 , IFNA2 , IFNA4 , IFNA5 , IFNA6 , IFNA7 , IFNA8 , IFNA10 , IFNA13 , IFNA14 , IFNA16 , IFNA17 , IFNA21 . These genes are found together in

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360-646: Is not completely understood, the use of IFN-β1 has been found to reduce brain lesions, increase the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines and reduce T cell infiltration into the brain. One of the major limiting factors in the efficacy of type I interferon therapy are the high rates of side effects. Between 15% - 40% of people undergoing type 1 IFN treatment develop major depressive disorders. Less commonly, interferon treatment has also been associated with anxiety, lethargy, psychosis and parkinsonism. Mood disorders associated with IFN therapy can be reversed by discontinuation of treatment, and IFN therapy related depression

390-491: Is typically associated with a tyrosine kinase belonging to the Janus kinase (JAK family). Binding of the receptor typically leads to activation of the canonical JAK/STAT signaling pathway . Type II cytokine receptors include those that bind interferons and those that bind members of the interleukin-10 family ( interleukin-10 , interleukin-20 , interleukin-22 , and interleukin-28 ). Expression of specific receptor varieties

420-460: Is used by IFN-α to reduce pain; IFN-α interacts with the μ-opioid receptor to act as an analgesic . In mice, IFN-β inhibits immune cell production of growth factors, thereby slowing tumor growth, and inhibits other cells from producing vessel-producing growth factors, thereby blocking tumor angiogenesis and hindering the tumour from connecting into the blood vessel system. In both mice and human, negative regulation of type I interferon signaling

450-851: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cancer. To date, pharmaceutical companies produce several types of recombinant and pegylated IFNα for clinical use; e.g., IFNα2a ( Roferon-A , Roche), IFNα2b ( Intron-A , Schering-Plough) and pegylated IFNα2b (Sylatron, Schering Corporation) for treatment of hairy cell leukemia , melanoma , renal cell carcinoma , Kaposi's sarcoma , multiple myeloma , follicular and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic myelogenous leukemia . Human IFNβ ( Feron , Toray ltd.) has also been approved in Japan to treat glioblastoma , medulloblastoma , astrocytoma , and melanoma . By combining PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with type I interferons, researchers aim to tackle multiple resistance mechanisms and enhance

480-461: The differentiation of different subsets of DCs by stimulating subset-specific gene expression. For example, IRF4 is required for the generation of CD4 + DCs, whereas IRF8 is essential for CD8α + DCs. In addition to IRF4 and IRF8, IRF1 and IRF2 are also involved in DC subset development. IRF8 has also been implicated in the promotion of macrophage development from common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) and

510-451: The IFN gene cluster is prevalent among 24 cancer types. Notably deletion of this cluster is significantly associated with increased mortality in many cancer types particularly uterus , kidney , and brain cancers. The Cancer Genome Atlas PanCancer analysis also showed that copy number alteration of the IFN gene cluster is significantly associated with decreased overall survival . For instance,

540-491: The child is in utero, although lacking any infectious origin. The aetiology is largely still unknown, but the most common genetic mutations are associated with nucleic acid regulation, leading most researchers to suggest these arise from the failure of antiviral systems to differentiate between host and viral DNA and RNA. Avian type I IFNs have been characterized and preliminarily assigned to subtypes (IFN I, IFN II, and IFN III), but their classification into subtypes should await

570-419: The human genome, a cluster of thirteen functional IFN genes is located at the 9p21.3 cytoband over approximately 400 kb including coding genes for IFNα ( IFNA1, IFNA2, IFNA4, IFNA5, IFNA6, IFNA7, IFNA8, IFNA10, IFNA13, IFNA14, IFNA16, IFNA17 and IFNA21 ), IFNω ( IFNW1 ), IFNɛ ( IFNE ), IFNк ( IFNK ) and IFNβ ( IFNB1 ), plus 11 IFN pseudogenes. Interferons bind to interferon receptors . All type I IFNs bind to

600-475: The immune system’s response to pathogens, and these interferons also respond to pathogens. Type III interferons induce a similar response to type I interferons, but their expression is limited to epithelial cells . The receptor is coded for by number of different genes, due to the diversity of types of interferons. Regulation of cell surface receptor levels plays an important role in the regulation and limiting of interferon signaling. This immunology article

630-865: The inhibition of granulocytic differentiation during the divergence of granulocytes and monocytes . IRF8 and IRF4 are also involved in the regulation of B and T-cell development at multiple stages. IRF8 and IRF4 function redundantly to drive common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) to B-cell lineage. IRF8 and IRF4 are also required in the regulation of germinal center (GC) B cell differentiation. IRFs are critical regulators of immune responses and immune cell development, and abnormalities in IRF expression and function have been linked to numerous diseases. Due to their critical role in IFN type I activation, IRFs are implicated in autoimmune diseases that are linked to activation of IFN type I system, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Accumulating evidence also indicates that IRFs play

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660-465: The most potent producers of type I IFNs in response to antigen, and have thus been coined natural IFN producing cells. IFN-ω is released by leukocytes at the site of viral infection or tumors. IFN-α acts as a pyrogenic factor by altering the activity of thermosensitive neurons in the hypothalamus thus causing fever. It does this by binding to opioid receptors and eliciting the release of prostaglandin-E 2 (PGE 2 ). A similar mechanism

690-477: The nucleus where they bind to IRF-E motifs and activate the transcription of Type I IFNs. In addition to IFNs, IRF1 and IRF5 has been found to induce transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines . Some IFNs like IRF2 and IRF4 regulate the activation of IFNs and pro-inflammatory cytokines through inhibition. IRF2 contains a repressor region that downregulates expression of type I IFNs. IRF4 competes with IRF5, and inhibits its sustained activity. In addition to

720-455: The overall anti-tumor immune response. The approach is supported by preclinical and clinical studies that show promising synergistic effects, particularly in melanoma and renal carcinoma . These studies reveal increased infiltration and activation of T cells within the tumor microenvironment , the development of memory T cells , and prolonged patient survival. Due to their strong antiviral properties, recombinant type 1 IFNs can be used for

750-422: The overall survival of patients with brain glioma reduced from 93 months (diploidy) to 24 months. In conclusion, the copy number alteration of the IFN gene cluster is associated with increased mortality and decreased overall survival in cancer. From the 1980s onward, members of type-I IFN family have been the standard care as immunotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy. In particular, IFNα has been approved by

780-436: The signal transduction functions of IRFs in innate immune responses , multiple IRFs (IRF1, IRF2, IRF4, and IRF8 ) play essential roles in the development of immune cells, including dendritic , myeloid , natural killer (NK), B , and T cells. Dendritic cells (DC) are a group of heterogeneous cells that can be divided into different subsets with distinct functions and developmental programs. IRF4 and IRF8 specify and direct

810-407: The surface of certain cells. They bind and respond to a select group of cytokines including interferon type I , interferon type II , interferon type III . and members of the interleukin-10 family These receptors are characterized by the lack of a WSXWS motif which differentiates them from type I cytokine receptors . Typically type II cytokine receptors are heterodimers or multimers with

840-410: The treatment for persistent viral infection. Pegylated IFN-α is the current standard of care when it comes to chronic Hepatitis B and C infection. Currently, there are four FDA approved variants of IFN-β1 used as a treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis . IFN-β1 is not an appropriate treatment for patients with progressive, non-relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Whilst the mechanism of action

870-450: Was recently described as a pseudogene in human, but potentially functional in the domestic cat genome. In all other genomes of non-feline placental mammals, IFN-ν is a pseudogene; in some species, the pseudogene is well preserved, while in others, it is badly mutilated or is undetectable. Moreover, in the cat genome, the IFN-ν promoter is deleteriously mutated. It is likely that the IFN-ν gene family

900-1111: Was rendered useless prior to mammalian diversification. Its presence on the edge of the type I IFN locus in mammals may have shielded it from obliteration, allowing its detection. From the 1980s onward, members of type-I IFN family have been the standard care as immunotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy. In particular, IFNα has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cancer. To date, pharmaceutical companies produce several types of recombinant and pegylated IFNα for clinical use; e.g., IFNα2a ( Roferon-A , Roche), IFNα2b ( Intron-A , Schering-Plough) and pegylated IFNα2b (Sylatron, Schering Corporation) for treatment of hairy cell leukemia , melanoma , renal cell carcinoma , Kaposi's sarcoma , multiple myeloma , follicular and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and chronic myelogenous leukemia . Human IFNβ ( Feron , Toray ltd.) has also been approved in Japan to treat glioblastoma , medulloblastoma , astrocytoma , and melanoma . [1] A large individual patient data meta-analysis using 9937 patients obtained from cBioportal indicates that copy number alteration of

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