Two antigenically distinct species of human interferon

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Interferons (IFNs) are crucial antiviral proteins with diverse production methods.
• Human interferons are produced by various cell types, including fibroblasts and leukocytes.
• Understanding IFN antigenicity is key to characterizing different IFN types and their immune interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the antigenic differences between human fibroblast interferon (HFN) and human leukocyte interferon (HLG).
• To identify distinct antibody populations in antisera raised against HLG.
• To elucidate the antigenic composition of HLG preparations.

Main Methods:

• Production of rabbit antisera against HFN and HLG.
• Neutralization assays to test antibody activity against different IFN types.
• Affinity chromatography to separate antibody populations within antisera.

Main Results:

• Antisera against HFN neutralized only fibroblast-derived IFNs.
• Most antisera against HLG neutralized both HLG and HFN.
• Affinity chromatography revealed two antibody populations in HLG antisera: one specific for HFN and another for a distinct HLG species.

Conclusions:

• Human leukocyte interferon preparations contain at least two distinct antigenic species.
• A major species of HLG (designated 'Le') is antigenically distinct from HFN.
• A minor species of HLG (designated 'F') is identical or closely related to HFN.