#Interferon responses in viral pneumonias | Science
▻https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6504/626.full
Given the intrinsic antiviral effects of IFN-λ and expression of IFNLR in the airway epithelium, IFN-λ is being investigated as a therapeutic agent for COVID-19. However, data from both Major et al. and Broggi et al. caution against the unintended consequences of appropriate antiviral responses in pneumonias, as caused by #SARS-CoV-2. In other tissues, inhibition of cell division and death of the infected cells would be the appropriate response to prevent spreading of the virus to live cells. By contrast, in the context of viral pneumonias and alveolar epithelial cells, failure to proliferate results in destruction of the gas exchange barrier and susceptibility to bacterial superinfections.