To protect the human body from the damaging effects of pathogenic pathogens - viruses, the immune system has a mechanism that ensures the fight against infectious diseases. It is the production by cells, for example, T-lymphocytes, of special substances, one of which is interferon gamma. Formed in the immune system, the compound plays the role of cellular defense. Why it is so important, how it is formed, and by what principle it ensures the integrity of our body - we will get answers to these questions in this article.
Chemical structure and production
The basis of the substance is a glycoprotein - a peptide associated with a carbohydrate. Biochemists have identified two of its forms, which differ in the amino acid composition of the first and 139 monomers in the polypeptide chain. They are called gamma-interferon 1a and 2a. The average molecular weight is about 20 - 25 kDa. Formed in response to penetration into tissues and cells of pathogenic agents represented byviral particles. Under artificial conditions, the substance is obtained by biotechnology and genetic engineering using strains of Escherichia coli bacteria, the plasmid of which contains the human interferon gene. Such gamma-interferon is called recombinant, it is part of the preparations: "Immuneron", "Ingaron", "Immunnomax".
Mechanism of immune responses
The appearance of foreign virulent pathogens in the body is always accompanied by a system of protective processes, one of which is inflammation. It serves as a marker signaling the onset of both the disease itself and the response of cells to pathogen antigens. There is a complex of interactions between the elements of the infected tissue or organ. It is based on substances produced by cells of lymphoid tissue: cytokines (lymphokines). For example, human interferon gamma, interleukin 2, through membrane interactions, force uninfected cells to begin the synthesis of antibodies, and, in fact, are signal proteins. Let's take a closer look at them.
Properties of lymphokines
In the 6th pair of human chromosomes there is a locus containing a set of genes that carry information about the antigenic properties of the cytoplasmic membrane and other cell organelles: nucleus, mitochondria, etc. Lymphokines themselves are not able to directly affect the antigens of viruses, but they quickly transmit information about the presence of foreign substances from one cell to another. For example, an antigen receptorhelper cells and T-lymphocytes, TOR induces an intracellular signal by activating two special proteins. Subsequently, the process of mitotic division - proliferation - intensifies in the lymphoid tissue, and cellular immunity increases significantly. Like other lymphokines, gamma-interferon interferes with the processes of transcription of viral nucleic acids, and also inhibits the assembly mechanism of protein molecules of a pathogenic pathogen. We can say that the protein compounds we are considering are the basis of humoral immunity.
How the immune system works
Thymus gland, lymph nodes, palatine tonsils, appendix - these are the places where lymphocytes form. Protective cells produce antibodies that inhibit the development of an infectious principle in the body. In the early stages of their development, cells of the immune system, called naive, cannot track foreign antigens, bacteria and viruses. They have to mature and become immunocompetent - this happens in the thymus. The body system that produces both the protective cells themselves: macrophages, T-lymphocytes, killer cells, and various types of interferon gamma, is controlled by the higher cortical centers of the brain.
Its activity is also regulated by the adrenal glands, pituitary gland and hypothalamus. Psycho-emotional disorders, irrational nutrition and bad habits reduce the immune response of the body, especially often this occurs against the background of chronic stress. Since the body's response is the result of the action of all its systems, anyviolation of homeostasis is fraught with immune failures and poor he alth.
Antibodies to human interferon gamma
In medical practice, as a preventive and therapeutic agent, substances containing protective proteins obtained by immunizing animals with recombinant interferon are used. Antibody molecules are precipitated from blood serum, purified and used as an antiviral drug. It is able to enhance the activity of the body's own protective compounds, such as gamma globulins, as well as reduce the symptoms of respiratory infections: runny nose and nasal congestion, cough.
Therapeutic effect of interferon
Protective glycoprotein inhibits the reproduction of viruses and stimulates cell enzymes, such as adenylate synthetase and protein kinase, which suppress the synthesis of nucleic acid and viral envelope proteins. The substance has the ability to influence the sensitivity of membrane cell proteins to lymphokines, i.e., it is an immunomodulator. Interferon gamma for children and adults is used to prevent and treat influenza and respiratory infections, with a positive test for the presence of Koch's bacillus in the body. The drug is available in the form of tablets, ointments, suppositories and injections.
The use of a drug prescribed by a doctor in children can be started from 6 months, given the child's absence of allergic reactions and serious pathologies of the cardiovascular system. Contraindications to the treatment of women are allergies and pregnancy. Modern drugs, especially those used in pediatrics, contain a recombinant protective protein with a high degree of purification and the complete absence of polypeptide fragments.
