interferon

(University of California - Berkeley) In a 20-year quest to determine why Listeria bacteria produce a uniquely strong immune response in humans, UC Berkeley scientists have found part of the answer: an unsuspected signaling molecule that the bacteria pump out and which ramps up production of interferon by the host.

Interferon mobilizes the immune system to fight off bacteria and viruses. According to Daniel Portnoy, the finding could help improve vaccines.

BOSTON (MedPage Today) -- Additional analysis has confirmed that a polymorphism in an interferon-related gene is strongly associated with responses to standard treatments for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, a researcher said here.

(Technische Universitaet Muenchen) To prolong the "half-life" of biopharmaceuticals such as interferon, biochemists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen combine these small proteins with a molecular "balloon" that swells in the presence of water -- keeping them from being quickly filtered from the blood.

The "balloon" itself consists of a biological polymer and can be produced together with the pharmaceutical protein by bacteria.

In animal trials, this technology has prolonged interferon's half-life by a factor of 60.