Interferon-alpha (IFN-α) is produced by multiple cell types in response to viral infection and constitutes an important part of the innate immune response. There are multiple human IFN-α genes of which at least 13 are transcribed. This results in 12 different functional IFN-α subtype proteins since IFN-α 1 and IFN-α 13 are identical. The IFN-α subtypes display high homology with each other but differ to various extents with regard to the type of producer cells and their anti-viral capacity. The subtype specificity of antibodies to IFN-α differs and needs to be defined for each antibody or for each capture/detection antibody combination. The below mentioned antibodies are suitable for the detection of human IFN-α subtype 2.
