Main Entry: in·ter·fer·on

Pronunciation: \ˌin-tə(r)-ˈfir-ˌän\

Function: noun

Etymology: interfere + ²-on

Date: 1957

: any of a group of heat-stable soluble basic antiviral glycoprotein cytokines of low molecular weight that are produced by cells exposed usually to the action of a virus, sometimes to the action of another intracellular parasite (as a bacterium), or experimentally to the action of some chemicals