Description | This product was protein A purified from monospecific antiserum by chromatography. This antibody is specific for bovine IFN gamma protein. A BLAST analysis was used to suggest cross-reactivity with IFN gamma from bovine based on 100% homology; cross-reactivity to yak, bison, zebu, buffalo, goat, sheep, nilgai, giraffe, Chinese forest musk deer, sika deer, red deer, Arabian camel, and Bactrian camel based on 91-99% homology with the immunizing sequence. Cross-reactivity with IFN gamma from other sources has not been determined. Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is a dimerized soluble cytokine that is the only member of the type II class interferon. This interferon was originally called macrophage-activating factor, a term now used to describe a larger family of proteins to which IFN-gamma belongs. IFN-gamma, or type II interferon, is a cytokine that is critical for innate and adaptive immunity against viral and intracellular bacterial infections and for tumor control. Aberrant IFN-gamma expression is associated with a number of autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The importance of IFN-gamma in the immune system stems in part from its ability to inhibit viral replication directly, but, most important, derives from its immunostimulatory and immunomodulatory effects. IFN-gamma is produced predominantly by natural killer (NK) and natural killer T (NKT) cells as part of the innate immune response, and by CD4 and CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) effector T cells once antigen-specific immunity develops. |