Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 NIAID Scientists Identify Interferon-gamma as Potential SARS-CoV-2 Antiviral This transmission electron micrograph shows SARS-CoV-2 virus particles isolated from a patient sample and cultivated in cell culture. Credit: NIAID NIAID scientists and New Zealand colleagues have shown that conditioning the lungs with interferon-gamma, a natural immune system protein (cytokine) best known for fighting bacterial infections, appears to be a strong antiviral for SARS-CoV-2. Their new study in Nature Communications shows in two different mouse models that when a bacterial infection triggers the release of interferon-gamma in the lungs, the animals are subsequently protected from infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The investigators also found that using recombinant interferon-gamma in the nose of study mice at the time of viral exposure substantially reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID disease. The scientists suggest testing interferon-gamma further, alone and in combination with other treatments, to limit early SARS-CoV-2 infection in people. They also hypothesize that people with prior bacterial infections that naturally release interferon-gamma in their lungs may be less susceptible to COVID-19. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  |  National Institutes of Health Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact Subscriber Help. This service is provided to you at no charge by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).                             This email was sent to myhcistech.healthnews360@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 5601 Fishers Lane · Bethesda, MD 20892 · 1-866-284-4107