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. 2007 May 1;9(2):244–254. doi: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2005.tb00353.x

IFN‐ζ limitin: a member of type I IFN with mild lympho‐myelosuppression

Kenji Oritani 1,✉, Yuzuru Kanakura 1
PMCID: PMC6740103  PMID: 15963247

Abstract

Interferon (IFN)‐ζlimitin has been considered as a novel type I IFN by the Nomenclature Committee of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research. IFN‐ζlimitin shows some sequence homology with IFN‐α and IFN‐β, has a globular structure with five α‐helices and four loops, and recognizes IFN‐α/β receptor. Although IFN‐ζlimitin displays antiviral, immunomodulatory, and antitumor effects, it has much less lymphomyelosuppressive activities than IFN‐α. Treatment of cells with type I IFNs induces and/or activates a number of molecules, which regulate cell cycle and apoptosis. It is noteworthy that IFN‐ζlimitin activates the Tyk2‐Daxx and Tyk2‐Crk pathways weaker than IFN‐α. Because experiments using antisense oligonucleotides have revealed their essential role in type I IFN‐related suppression of lympho‐hematopoiesis, little ability of IFN‐ζlimitin to activate the Tyk2‐dependent signaling pathway may explain its uniquely narrow range of biological activities. Further analysis of structure‐function relationship of type I IFNs will establish an engineered cytokine with useful features of IFN‐ζlimitin.

Keywords: interferon, IFN‐ζlimitin, cytokine, structure, signal, Daxx, Crk

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