Interferons in coronavirus pathogenesis: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Interferons (IFNs) are a key component of the innate antiviral immunity and are generally implicated in protective host immune responses. Here, I discuss the central role of IFNs during different coronavirus (CoV) infections, the importance of timing of the IFN response, and how emerging human coronaviruses subvert antiviral IFN response to cause severe disease.