IFN-alpha I/IFNA17 Products

Description

Interferons (IFN) are a family of cytokines with potent antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory properties, classified based on their binding specificity to cell surface receptors (1). Human IFNA2 was originally cloned in the early ‘80s and now more than a dozen closely related IFN alpha subtypes have been identified in both the human and mouse genome, each sharing about 80% amino acid (aa) sequence homology (2-4). Structurally, type I IFNs belong to the class of five helical‑bundle cytokines, with the IFNA subtypes containing 2 conserved disulfide bonds (5). There is not a mouse homolog for IFNA17, but mature human IFNA17 shares 58% aa sequence identity with chimpanzee IFNA17. The type I IFNs bind to the interferon alpha receptor (IFNAR), which consists of two subunits: IFNAR1 (alpha -subunit) and IFNAR2 (beta -subunit) (6, 7). Individual IFNA subtypes are known to display unique efficacies to viral protection (8). IFNA17 has been shown to be potent against HIV-1 activity (9). Human IFNA17 is the only IFNA subtype identified with antiviral activity but a reduced ability to activate NK cells (10). A mutation in IFNA17, Ile184Arg, is associated with an increased risk for cervical cancer (11).

Bioinformatics

Uniprot	P01571.2
Product By Gene ID	3451
Alternate Names	IFNA IFNA17 IFNalpha I IFN-alpha I IFN-alpha-17 IFN-alphaI INFA interferon alpha-17 Interferon alpha-88 Interferon alpha-I' Interferon alpha-T interferon alpha-WA interferon, alpha 17 LeIF I LEIF2C1