Apoptosis and growth inhibition of squamous carcinoma cells treated with interferon-alpha, IFN-beta and retinoic acid are associated with induction of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21.

INTRODUCTION Type I IFNs are a group of glycoproteins with a wide range of effects on cells of different lineages [1, 2]. In particular, IFN-alpha and IFN-s have an antiviral, anti-proliferative, and immunomodulating activity [3] that results in an anti-tumoral effect in vitro and in vivo against a variety of cancers including squamous cell carcinoma [4-6]. The essential role of retinoids in regulating normal squamous [...]