Interferons
Interferons are proteins that can induce a non-specific resistance to viral infections by several mechanisms, including the inhibition of protein synthesis, inactivation of viral RNA, and enhancement of phagocytic and cytotoxic mechanisms (Ozato et al., 2007). The interferon (IFN) system represents the first line of defence against a wide range of viruses (in this instance, SARS-CoV-2). Viral infection rapidly triggers the transcriptional induction of IFN-β and IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), whose protein products act as viral restriction factors by interfering with specific stages of the virus life cycle, such as entry, transcription, translation, genome replication, assembly and egress (Subramanian et al., 2018; O’Brien et al., 2020).
Interferons activate macrophages that engulf antigens and natural killer cells (NK cells), a type of immune T-cells that are integral in the innate immune system. Adverse effects include, fever, myalgia, confusion, leucopenia, elevated liver enzymes (O’Brien et al., 2020; Prokunina-Olsson et al., 2020).