Viral Evasion of the Interferon System: Novel Targets for Drug Discovery

The interferon system plays a key role in early defense against viral infections. Viruses of interest as emerging pathogens or their bioterrorism potential have evolved different strategies to defeat the interferon system. These mechanisms should provide discrete and viable targets for antiviral drug discovery since numerous experiments have demonstrated the connection between virulence and such interferon evasion viral gene products.