Abstract
Interferon (IFN)-tau secreted only by ruminant endometrium, helps in maternal recognition of pregnancy and exhibit antiviral and antiproliferative activity. Among different types of IFN-tau, IFN-tau1c and IFN- tau3a are the most highly expressed isoforms. In the present study structure of INF-tau1c was predicted using homology modelling. The best model was selected based on overall stereo-chemical quality. The generated 3D structure of the Interferon-tau1c protein of Bos taurus was predicted using the ovine interferon-tau (PDB ID: 1B5L_A) as template. The structure comprises of 5 alpha helices separated by loop regions, which is similar to the one predicted for other IFNs. Molecular interactions of bovine IFN-tau1c with human interferon Type 1 receptor (IFNAR1) was explored in an attempt to predict human IFNAR1 binding sites of IFN-tau1c.
Highlights
The Interferon (IFN)-τ a member of Type I IFN, produced by ruminant ungulates, during blastocyst stage and the time when the elongated trophoblast attaches to the uterine wall, prevents the destruction of the corpus luteum and helps in maternal recognition of pregnancy
IFN-τ induces the same antiviral pathways in macrophages as other type I IFNs but without associated toxicity [15]. This is important since the type I IFNs are potent therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases, preventing the infection of macrophages and the production of viral particles in these cells might make it possible to control the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to some extent
Sequence retrieval: The structural template protein, which is the structural homologue of the target protein i.e. INF-τ1c from Bos taurus, was identified in NCBI using protein Basic Loci Alignment Search Tool [19] and Protein Data Bank (PDB) [20] was set as reference data base
Summary
The Interferon (IFN)-τ a member of Type I IFN, produced by ruminant ungulates, during blastocyst stage and the time when the elongated trophoblast attaches to the uterine wall, prevents the destruction of the corpus luteum and helps in maternal recognition of pregnancy. IFN-τ has potent antiviral [8] and antiproliferative activity [9,10] like other IFNs, but is less toxic in vitro and in vivo than IFN-α and IFN-β [11, 12], they are unique in that, these responses are not induced by viral infection [2] , and could be considered a possible alternative to IFN-α. IFN-τ induces the same antiviral pathways in macrophages as other type I IFNs but without associated toxicity [15]. This is important since the type I IFNs are potent therapeutic agents for the treatment of various diseases, preventing the infection of macrophages and the production of viral particles in these cells might make it possible to control the spread of HIV to some extent
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