Acinterferon Alfa

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

**Definition:** A proprietary recombinant protein highly resembling human interferon alpha 2b (IFN-a2b), with potential anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating and antiviral activities. Upon injection, acinterferon alfa binds to specific IFN alpha cell surface receptors. This activates interferon-mediated signal transduction pathways and induces the transcription and translation of genes with interferon-specific response elements (ISREs). This may activate the immune system, including the activation of natural killer cells (NKs) and may result in an inhibition of tumor cell proliferation, tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and an induction of apoptosis. Compared to human IFN-a2b (HuINF-a2b), this agent exhibits enhanced antiviral and antiproliferative activities. In addition, this agent exhibits antiviral activity against a variety of viruses, including hepatitis B and C viruses, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Avian Influenza.

**Synonyms:** - ACINTERFERON ALFA - Novaferon - Recombinant IFN Alfa-2b-like Protein - Recombinant Interferon Alpha 2b-like Protein