[Functional phage display of human interferon alpha lc/86D]

We have successfully displayed human interferon-alpha lc/86D(IFN-alpha lc/86D) on the surface of the filamentous bacteriophage using a phagemid vector system (pCANTAB5E). The IFN-alpha lc/86D cDNA was fused to a DNA sequence encoding the amino-terminal domain of pIII, a minor coat protein exposed at one end of the phage. Fusion gene was packaged into phagemid particles upon superinfection with M13K07 helper phage. Expression of IFN-alpha lc/86D was verified by its reactivity with IFN-alpha l specific neutralizing antibodies and the phage displayed IFN-alpha lc86D was found to possess antiviral biological activity on VSV challenged WISH cells comparable to that of human recombinant IFN-alpha lb. These results demonstrate that IFN-alpha lc/86D can be displayed on phage in a correctly folded and functionally active form, and this system can be applicable to the sorting of a large repertoire of phage-displayed IFN-alpha lc/86D variants.