The expression of cytochrome P4502C has been shown to be upregulated in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and could be linked to viral infection through the release of interferon alpha and interleukins. MxA is a reliable marker of IFNalpha release and its level was significantly enhanced in SIDS reflecting the release of IFNalpha in response to viral infection. Similarly, the concentration of Fas protein was increased in SIDS (2.6x control) and indicated a stimulation of the Fas gene expression. Accumulation of MxA and Fas proteins were visible in liver and to a lesser extent in lung and kidney. The amount of RNA encoding CYP2C9 (4.4x control), 2C8 (2.5x) and 2C18 (2.3x) was markedly higher in SIDS than in age-matched children and would suggest a transcriptional activation of CYP2C gene expression. Finally, CYP2C genes were shown to be adjacent to two IFN-inducible genes (IFI54 and IFI56) on chromosome 10. We conclude that in SIDS a viral infection leads to the release of IFNalpha which could activate a battery of IFN-inducible genes. This might modify the chromatin structure and facilitate the accessibility to promoter/regulatory sequences of CYP2C and Fas genes close to IFN-inducible gene on chromosome 10.

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