Background
Monocytes, which are key players in innate immunity, are outnumbered by neutrophils and lymphocytes among peripheral white blood cells. The cytokine interferon-β (IFN-β) is widely used as an immunomodulatory drug for multiple sclerosis and its functional pathways in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) have been previously described. The
Conclusions
By focusing on the response of distinct cell types and by evaluating the combined effects of two cytokines with pro and anti-inflammatory activities, we were able to present two new findings First, new IFN-β response pathways and genes, some of which were monocytes specific; second, a cell-specific modulation of the IFN-β response transcriptome by TNF-α.