Burke D C
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1982 Sep 24;299(1094):51-7. doi: 10.1098/rstb.1982.0105.
Interferons are formed when most cells are treated with viruses or double-stranded RNA (to form IFN-alpha or beta, or both) or when lymphoid cells are treated with mitogens or the appropriate antigen (to form IFN-gamma). Interferon-alpha and beta are formed as a result of transcription of cellular genes--probably in response to double-stranded RNA in the cytoplasm. The process can be controlled at three levels. (1) In mouse teratocarcinoma stem cells or early mouse embryos the interferon system is inaccessible and only becomes inducible as differentiation proceeds. (2) The target(s) responding to double-stranded RNA probably involve sequences upstream from the 5' end of the interferon genes, sequences now becoming accessible by gene cloning. (3) Levels of interferon mRNA can be regulated either by an increased rate of transcription or by an increased half-life of the mRNA.
当大多数细胞受到病毒或双链RNA处理时（以形成干扰素-α或β，或两者皆有），或者当淋巴细胞受到有丝分裂原或适当抗原处理时（以形成干扰素-γ），干扰素就会形成。干扰素-α和β是细胞基因转录的结果——可能是对细胞质中双链RNA的反应。这个过程可以在三个层面上受到控制。（1）在小鼠畸胎瘤干细胞或早期小鼠胚胎中，干扰素系统无法被激活，只有在分化过程中才会变得可诱导。（2）对双链RNA作出反应的靶标可能涉及干扰素基因5'端上游的序列，这些序列现在可以通过基因克隆来获取。（3）干扰素mRNA的水平可以通过转录速率的提高或mRNA半衰期的延长来调节。
