This article reviews the main lines of thinking and exploration that have led to our current
conception of the role of IFN-γ in immune defense and autoimmunity. In 1965 the first report
appeared describing production of an interferon-like virus inhibitor in cultured human
leukocytes following exposure to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin. In the early 1970s the
active principle became recognized as being distinct from classical virus-induced
interferons, leading to its designation as immune interferon or Type II interferon, and …