Interferon tau

Interferon tau
Identifiers
OrganismBos taurus
SymbolIFNT2
Alt. symbolsIFNT; IFNT1; TP-1
Entrez317698
RefSeq (mRNA)NM_001015511.4
RefSeq (Prot)NP_001015511.3
UniProtP15696
Other data
Chromosome8: 22.61 - 22.61 Mb
Search for
StructuresSwiss-model
DomainsInterPro

Interferon tau (IFNτ, IFNT) is a Type I interferon made of a single chain of amino acids. IFN-τ was first discovered in ruminants as the signal for the maternal recognition of pregnancy and originally named ovine trophoblast protein-1 (oTP-1). It has many physiological functions in the mammalian uterus, and also has anti-inflammatory effect that aids in the protection of the semi-allogeneic conceptus trophectoderm from the maternal immune system.[1][2]

IFN-τ genes have only been found in ruminants that belong to the Artidactyla order, and multiple polymorphisms and several variants of IFN-τ have been identified.[3] Although IFN-τ has been shown not to be produced in humans, both human and mouse cells respond to its effects. IFN-τ binds to the same IFN receptors as IFN-α and induces intracellular signalling through STAT1, STAT2, and Tyk2. This leads to the production of antiviral and immunomodulatory cytokines, including IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10.[4]

  1. ^ Bazer FW, Ying W, Wang X, Dunlap KA, Zhou B, Johnson GA, Wu G (March 2015). "The many faces of interferon tau". Amino Acids. 47 (3): 449–60. doi:10.1007/s00726-014-1905-x. PMID 25557050. S2CID 14940718.
  2. ^ Imakawa K, Bai R, Nakamura K, Kusama K (July 2017). "Thirty years of interferon-tau research; Past, present and future perspective". Animal Science Journal. 88 (7): 927–936. doi:10.1111/asj.12807. PMID 28504476.
  3. ^ Li SF, Gong MJ, Zhao FR, Shao JJ, Xie YL, Zhang YG, Chang HY (2018). "Type I Interferons: Distinct Biological Activities and Current Applications for Viral Infection". Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 51 (5): 2377–2396. doi:10.1159/000495897. PMID 30537741.
  4. ^ Graber JJ, Dhib-Jalbut S (2014). "Interferons". Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences. Elsevier. pp. 718–723. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-385157-4.00182-2. ISBN 978-0-12-385158-1.