Interferon alfa
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Subcutaneous, intramuscular |
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Interferon alfa (INN) or HuIFN-alpha-Le, trade name Multiferon, is a pharmaceutical drug composed of natural interferon alpha (IFN-α) obtained from the leukocyte fraction of human blood following induction with Sendai virus. Interferon alfa contains several naturally occurring IFN-α subtypes and is purified by affinity chromatography. Although the pharmaceutical product is often simply called "interferon alpha" or "IFN-α" like its endogenous counterpart, the product's INN is interferon alfa (the spelling of 'alfa' with 'f' reflects INN naming conventions).
Interferon alfa contains a mixture of several proteins, all with structural, serological, and functional properties typical for natural interferon alpha (IFN α). The major subtypes identified are IFN-α1, IFN-α2, IFN-α8, IFN-α10, IFN-α14 and IFN-α21. Of these, IFN-α2 and IFN-α14 are glycosylated. The IFN-α content is expressed in International Units per milliliter, and the drug product is formulated in isotonic phosphate buffer solution at pH = 7.2, and supplemented with human albumin at 1.5 mg/ml. The albumin used is a medicinal product approved in several countries, and is indicated for subcutaneous injection therapy.
IFN-α8 enhances the proliferation of human B cells, as well as being able to activate NK cells. The subtypes α10 and α2, along with α8, are the most efficient and powerful NK cell activators. Subtypes α21 and α2 enhance the expression of IFN-gamma-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) in dendritic cells. Activated dendritic cells initiate immune responses and induce the expression of IP-10, a chemokine which promotes a Th1 inflammatory response.
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