Human IFNA2

IFN (interferons) are a family of cytokines with potent antiviral, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory properties, and they are classified based on their binding specificity to cell surface receptors. There are more than a dozen closely related IFN alpha subtypes found in both the human and mouse genome, each sharing about 80% amino acid (aa) sequence homology. Individual IFN alpha subtypes display unique efficacies to viral protection. IFNA2b, for instance, has been approved for the treatment of hairy cell leukemia, several malignancies including AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma, malignant melanoma and chronic hepatitis B and C (1-5).