Kiwi Lab Study: Interferon Gamma Looks Act as Antiviral, Protecting Against SARS-CoV-2

The National Institute of Health (NIH)’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) led a recent study with collaborators at Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in New Zealand to report on the possible breakthrough that conditioning the lungs with interferon-gamma, a natural immune system protein (cytokine) best known for fighting bacterial infections, appears to be a strong antiviral for SARS-CoV-2.

In this latest investigation, the research team didn’t think about interferon-gamma as a necessary component for SARS-CoV-2 protection. Usually different instances of interferon – alpha, beta and lambda – help fight viruses, but not gamma.