Interferons (IFNs) are a family of proteins that are generated in response to viral infection and induce an antiviral response in many cell types. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that patients with inborn errors of type-I IFN immunity were more prone to severe infections, but also found that many patients with severe COVID-19 had anti-IFN autoantibodies that led to acquired defects in type-I IFN immunity. These findings revealed the previously unappreciated finding that central immune tolerance to IFN is essential to immune health. Further evidence has also highlighted the importance of IFN within the thymus and its impact on T-cell development. This review will highlight what is known of IFN's role in T-cell development, T-cell central tolerance, and the impact of IFN on the thymus.

干扰素 (IFN) 是响应病毒感染而产生的蛋白质家族，可在多种细胞类型中诱导抗病毒反应。COVID-19大流行揭示了I型IFN免疫先天性缺陷的患者更容易发生严重感染，但也发现许多重症COVID-19患者存在抗IFN自身抗体，导致I型IFN获得性缺陷免疫。这些发现揭示了先前未被重视的发现，即对干扰素的中枢免疫耐受对于免疫健康至关重要。进一步的证据还强调了 IFN 在胸腺中的重要性及其对 T 细胞发育的影响。这篇综述将重点介绍干扰素在 T 细胞发育、T 细胞中枢耐受性以及干扰素对胸腺的影响方面的已知作用。