Word: interferon
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Shedding greater light on the human body’s first-line defense against the flu virus, the researchers found that the family of flu-fighting proteins—called the interferon-inducible transmembrane (IFITM) proteins—prevented or slowed down most virus particles from infecting human cells early in the lifecycle of the virus. The team reported its findings in an online journal on Thursday...
...that, Casey A. Maguire, the lead author of the study, used “adeno-associated virus vectors”—the best vectors for global delivery—to introduce a gene that, when expressed, causes production of the protein interferon-beta...
After four days, the size of the tumor in mice with the beta-interferon gene had been substantially reduced compared to the mice that had not received the gene...
Within two weeks, the tumors had been completely eliminated in mice with the interferon-beta gene...
Although the interferon sprays caused irritation and minor nasal bleeding about 10% of the time, the main drawback of the treatment is likely to be price. Schering will not discuss the current cost of its interferon, but according to a spokesman, the company hopes "to have the product at an affordable level after FDA approval," which could take months or even years to obtain. Unless the price of interferon drops substantially, its most practical use may be to protect those most endangered by colds: people with asthma, cancer patients whose resistance is low and the elderly...