IFNE
Overview
IFNE (interferon epsilon) is a type-I interferon constitutively expressed by epithelial cells, including fallopian tube epithelium. Unlike classical type-I IFNs (IFN-alpha/beta), IFNE expression declines during oncogenic transformation, suggesting a role in innate tumor surveillance.
Alterations observed in the corpus
- IFNE is constitutively expressed by normal fallopian tube (FT) epithelium; it is significantly downregulated only in STIC.C (serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma with concurrent cancer) and invasive cancer stages in a 44-specimen CyCIF/GeoMx spatial atlas of HGSOC precursors — making it a marker of early immune surveillance loss PMID:39386723.
- Normal FT and early precursor (p53 signature, STIC.I) stages maintain IFNE expression while upregulating downstream IFN-stimulated genes (IFITM1, IRF7, IRF9, ISG15) PMID:39386723.
Cancer types (linked)
- HGSOC — IFNE downregulation is specific to advanced precursor (STIC.C) and invasive cancer stages; preserved in early precursor lesions; pattern consistent with progressive innate immune evasion during HGSOC development PMID:39386723.
Co-occurrence and mutual exclusivity
- IFNE expression inversely correlates with HLA-E upregulation and NK-cell depletion seen in STIC.C and cancer stages; together these define a coordinated immune-evasion program in HGSOC PMID:39386723.
Therapeutic relevance
- Not reported in the corpus; IFNE downregulation is hypothesis-generating as a biomarker of precursor-stage immune evasion relevant to interception strategies PMID:39386723.
Open questions
- The mechanistic basis for IFNE downregulation during STIC.C progression (transcriptional repression vs epigenetic silencing) has not been established PMID:39386723.
Sources
This page was processed by crosslinker on 2026-05-04.