In this regard, IFN-induced inhibition of sterol biosynthesis serves as an integral component of the very early cellular response to virus infection and we, and others, have shown that cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) and its cognate metabolite 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC) are important effectors in this response [18,24,27]. The gene discussed is IFNA1; the disease is viral infectious disease.