Interferon Beta-1B

**Semantic type:** Amino Acid, Peptide, or Protein|Pharmacologic Substance

**Definition:** A recombinant and modified form of the endogenous cytokine human interferon (IFN) beta-1b, with antiproliferative, antiviral and immunomodulating activities. Upon administration, interferon beta-1b targets and binds to specific type I IFN receptors, which eventually results in the transcription and translation of genes containing an interferon-specific response element and leads to the production of various anti-viral proteins and modulates the production of various immune-modulating proteins. This reduces the production of certain pro-inflammatory cytokines while upregulating the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 10 (IL-10), upregulates the expression of major histocompatibility (MHC) I proteins which allows for increased presentation of peptides derived from viral antigens, and activates CD8+ T cells as well as other immune cells. Endogenous IFN-beta-1b is produced following viral infection and it plays a key role in innate immune response against viral pathogens.

**Synonyms:** - Beta-ser-interferon - Betaferon - Betaseron - Betaseron - INTERFERON BETA-1B - Recombinant interferon beta-1b