The presence of alpha-interferon in human amniotic fluid.

Almost all the samples of amniotic fluid from 62 pregnant women from the 16th week to the end of the pregnancy contained detectable amounts of alpha-type interferon. The presence of this substance in amniotic fluid during pregnancy raises the question of the physiological significance of this finding. It is postulated that the amniotic type of alpha-interferon might be a product of a constitutive gene, rather than induced by latent virus infection.