Strong, punchy interferon responses are essential to early viral control, acting as a “first line of defense” that comes online within minutes or hours, says Mario Santiago, PhD, an immunologist at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Even so, “I think there’s every reason to think that interferons are still going to be effective” in some form, once scientists nail the timing, recipe, and dose, says Eric Poeschla, MD, Santiago’s collaborator at CU Anschutz. The molecules are, after all, nature’s DIY antivirals.