A possible anticancer agent, type III interferon, activates cell death pathways and produces antitumor effects.
Recently identified interleukin-28 and -29 belong to a novel type III interferon (IFN) family, which could have distinct biological properties from type I and II IFNs. Type I IFNs, IFN-α/β, have been clinically applied for treating a certain kind of malignancies for over 30 years, but a wide range of the adverse effects hampered the further clinical applications. Type III IFNs, IFN-λs, have similar signaling pathways as IFN-α/β and inhibits proliferation of tumor cells through cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. Restricted patterns of type III IFN receptor expression in contrast to ubiquitously expressed IFN-α/β receptors suggest that type III IFNs have limited cytotoxicity to normal cells and can be a possible anticancer agent. In this paper, we summarize the current knowledge on the IFN-λs-mediated tumor cell death and discuss the functional difference between type I and III IFNs.
Division of Pathology and Cell Therapy, Chiba Cancer Center Research Institute, 666-2 Nitona, Chuo-ku, Chiba 260-8717, Japan. mtagawa@chiba-cc.jp
Masatoshi
M
Tagawa
Kiyoko
K
Kawamura
Quanhai
Q
Li
Yuji
Y
Tada
Kenzo
K
Hiroshima
Hideaki
H
Shimada
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D016233:Immunotherapy, Active / Q000639:trends; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D017471:Receptors, Interferon / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D007378:Interleukins; D000095022:Interferon Lambda
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016207:Cytokines; D007370:Interferon Type I; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D017471:Receptors, Interferon; C511668:interferon-lambda protein, mouse; D007378:Interleukins; D000095022:Interferon Lambda