WHEREFORE INTERFERON

Interferon (IFN) was discovered by virologists interested in the pheno menon of viral interference and for many years was considered to be ex clusively an antiviral substance, In time, it was accepted that the an tiviral action was only one manifestation of the multiple effects of I FN on cells, IFN was shown to inhibit the development of tumors, to mo dulate immune function, and even to induce disease, Some aspects of th ese phenomena will be discussed, Despite this plethora of biological e ffects of type I IFN, the potency of its antiviral action, combined wi th its varied effects on both the cell-mediated and humoral immune res ponse, render it a most effective and remarkable antiviral substance, Arguments will be presented to support the hypothesis that the major r ole of IFN is, after all, in antiviral defense, Finally, the use of ty pe I IFN in the treatment of patients with viral and neoplastic diseas es and even diseases of varied and unknown etiology is discussed.