This gene is a member of the alpha interferon gene cluster on chromosome 9. The encoded protein is a cytokine produced in response to viral infection. Use of the recombinant form of this protein has been shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms and duration of the common cold. [provided by RefSeq, Jun 2011].
Xiao, Xiao, Xu, Wang, Chen, Liu, Li, Shi, Nie, Li, Wu, Liu, Ren, Guleng: "Exome sequencing identifies novel compound heterozygous IFNA4 and IFNA10 mutations as a cause of impaired function in Crohn's disease patients." in: Scientific reports, Vol. 5, pp. 10514, (2015) (PubMed).