1. The Interferon family Interferons (IFN) were first discovered by Isaacs and Lindemann in 1957. The initial experiments were performed in chick chorioallantoic membranes in a nutrient fluid where the addition of influenza virus stimulated the production of a protein which interfered or prevented viral replication. In 1965, IFNγ was discovered as a viral inhibitory protein produced by lymphocyt..