Interferon Nomenclature

Interferons were discovered in 1957 and subsequently divided into antigenically distinct types: type I, represented by the leukocyte and fibroblast types (generally acid stable), and type II, represented by immune interferon (generally acid labile). With cloning of the interferon genes and formation of an ad hoc interferon nomenclature committee, the names interferon-α, interferon-β, and interferon-γ to refer to the pure species that comprise the predominant class of leukocyte, fibroblast and immune interferons, respectively, were proposed and met with general acceptance among the scientific community. The evolution of the current nomenclature system for interferon proteins, recent studies on interferon-β2, acceptance of the term IL-6, and unresolved nomenclature issues in the interferon field are overviewed here.