Interferons are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten their anti-viral defenses.
The T helper cells (Th cells), also known as CD4+ cells or CD4-positive cells, are a type of T cell that play an important role in the adaptive immune system. They aid the activity of other immune cells by releasing cytokines. They are considered essential in B cell antibody class switching, breaking cross-tolerance in dendritic cells, in the activation and growth of cytotoxic T cells, and in maximizing bactericidal activity of phagocytes such as macrophages and neutrophils. CD4+ cells are mature Th cells that express the surface protein CD4. Genetic variation in regulatory elements expressed by CD4+ cells determines susceptibility to a broad class of autoimmune diseases.
Interleukin 12 (IL-12) is an interleukin that is naturally produced by dendritic cells, macrophages, neutrophils, helper T cells and human B-lymphoblastoid cells (NC-37) in response to antigenic stimulation. IL-12 belongs to the family of interleukin-12. IL-12 family is unique in comprising the only heterodimeric cytokines, which includes IL-12, IL-23, IL-27 and IL-35. Despite sharing many structural features and molecular partners, they mediate surprisingly diverse functional effects.
Interferon gamma is a dimerized soluble cytokine that is the only member of the type II class of interferons. The existence of this interferon, which early in its history was known as immune interferon, was described by E. F. Wheelock as a product of human leukocytes stimulated with phytohemagglutinin, and by others as a product of antigen-stimulated lymphocytes. It was also shown to be produced in human lymphocytes. or tuberculin-sensitized mouse peritoneal lymphocytes challenged with Mantoux test (PPD); the resulting supernatants were shown to inhibit growth of vesicular stomatitis virus. Those reports also contained the basic observation underlying the now widely employed interferon gamma release assay used to test for tuberculosis. In humans, the IFNG protein is encoded by the IFNG gene.
Ribonuclease L or RNase L, known sometimes as ribonuclease 4 or 2'-5' oligoadenylate synthetase-dependent ribonuclease, is an interferon (IFN)-induced ribonuclease which, upon activation, destroys all RNA within the cell. RNase L is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the RNASEL gene.
Interleukin-29 (IL-29) is a cytokine and it belongs to type III interferons group, also termed interferons λ (IFN-λ). IL-29 plays an important role in the immune response against pathogenes and especially against viruses by mechanisms similar to type I interferons, but targeting primarily cells of epithelial origin and hepatocytes.
Chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9) is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family that is also known as monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG). The CXCL9 is one of the chemokine which plays role to induce chemotaxis, promote differentiation and multiplication of leukocytes, and cause tissue extravasation.
C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) also known as Interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10) or small-inducible cytokine B10 is an 8.7 kDa protein that in humans is encoded by the CXCL10 gene. C-X-C motif chemokine 10 is a small cytokine belonging to the CXC chemokine family.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) is a transcription factor which in humans is encoded by the STAT1 gene. It is a member of the STAT protein family.
Understanding of the antitumor immunity role of CD4+ T cells has grown substantially since the late 1990s. CD4+ T cells (mature T-helper cells) play an important role in modulating immune responses to pathogens and tumor cells, and are important in orchestrating overall immune responses.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) is a transcription factor belonging to the STAT protein family, composed of STAT1, STAT2, STAT3, STAT4, STAT5A, STAT5B, STAT6. STAT proteins are key activators of gene transcription which bind to DNA in response to cytokine gradient. STAT proteins are a common part of Janus kinase (JAK)- signalling pathways, activated by cytokines.STAT4 is required for the development of Th1 cells from naive CD4+ T cells and IFN-γ production in response to IL-12. There are two known STAT4 transcripts, STAT4α and STAT4β, differing in the levels of interferon-gamma production downstream.
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the STAT2 gene. It is a member of the STAT protein family. This protein is critical to the biological response of type I interferons (IFNs). It functions as a transcription factor downstream of type I interferons. STAT2 sequence identity between mouse and human is only 68%.
Interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) is a 17 kDa secreted protein that in humans is encoded by the ISG15 gene. ISG15 is induced by type I interferon (IFN) and serves many functions, acting both as an extracellular cytokine and an intracellular protein modifier. The precise functions are diverse and vary among species but include potentiation of Interferon gamma (IFN-II) production in lymphocytes, ubiquitin-like conjugation to newly-synthesized proteins and negative regulation of the IFN-I response.
Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) also known as cluster of differentiation 274 (CD274) or B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CD274 gene.
T-box transcription factor TBX21, also called T-bet, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the TBX21 gene. Though being for long thought of only as a master regulator of type 1 immune response, T-bet has recently been shown to be implicated in development of various immune cell subsets and maintenance of mucosal homeostasis.
Heart- and neural crest derivatives-expressed protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the HAND2 gene.
CDKN2B-AS, also known as ANRIL is a long non-coding RNA consisting of 19 exons, spanning 126.3kb in the genome, and its spliced product is a 3834bp RNA. It is located within the p15/CDKN2B-p16/CDKN2A-p14/ARF gene cluster, in the antisense direction. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which alter the expression of CDKN2B-AS are associated with human healthy life expectancy, as well as with multiple diseases, including coronary artery disease, diabetes and many cancers. It binds to chromobox 7 (CBX7) within the polycomb repressive complex 1 and to SUZ12, a component of polycomb repression complex 2 and through these interactions is involved in transcriptional repression.
ZEB2-AS1 is a long non-coding RNA, which is overlapping and antisense to the ZEB2 gene. It overlaps the 5′ splice site of an intron within the 5′UTR of the ZEB2 gene. This intron contains an internal ribosome entry site (IRES), which is necessary for ZEB2 expression. ZEB2-AS1 prevents the splicing of this intron, and therefore activates ZEB2 expression.
In molecular biology, FMR1 antisense RNA 1 (FMR1-AS1), also known as ASFMR1 or FMR4, is a long non-coding RNA. The FMR1-AS1 gene overlaps, and is antisense to, the CGG repeat region of the FMR1 gene. Its expression is upregulated in fragile X syndrome premutation carriers, and silenced in patients with fragile X syndrome. FMR1-AS1 has an anti-apoptotic function.
In molecular biology, GNAS antisense RNA , also known as GNAS-AS1, is a long non-coding RNA.It is antisense to the GNAS gene. It is an imprinted gene, expressed only from the paternal allele, suggesting that it may have a role in suppression of the paternal NESP55 allele encoded by GNAS.
