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