The possibility of the use of interferon-gamma in Influenza infection
Interferon-gamma (IFN-y) is a pleiotropic lymphokine that have multiple effects on the growth and differentiation of various types of cells associated with innate immunity. IFN-y induces differentiation ofmyeloid cells, stimulates the expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and class I antigens, it is a potent activator of macrophages which destroy antigenic molecules penetrating the cell. IFN-y is widely used for the treatment of infectious diseases, cancer, autoimmune and allergic diseases. Studies conducted in Research Institute ofInfluenza indicate that drugs IFN-y can be successfully usedfor prevention of influenza and acute respiratory infection (ARI) during the rise of incidence, as well as for the treatment - the first few days/ hours of the onset. The concomitant use of drugs as IFN-a and IFN-y on influenza and ARI can greatly improve the prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy.