Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with cirrhosis may be at risk of hepatic decompensation and death when treated with alpha interferons, including PEGASYS.
Lonely people have unusually low numbers of a type of myeloid cell that generates what are known as interferon responses, which hamper viral replication.
So, a person's unique blend of interferon genes may end up explaining whether they develop symptoms, and not just because the proteins interact with the virus directly.
Well, the answer they found is pretty surprising, and it really centers on one specific molecule, a signaling protein called interferon gamma, or IFNO.