The structure of one of the eight or more distinct chromosomal genes for human interferon-alpha

The 12 interferon (IFN)-related sequences detected in a human gene bank fall into not less than eight distinct classes, indicating that there are at least eight IFN-related genes. Most, if not all, of these direct the synthesis of an IFN in Escherichia coli. The sequence of one chromosomal gene and its flanking regions was identical to that deduced for the cDNA corresponding to IFN-alpha l mRNA. No evidence was found for the existence of an intron, in either the coding or the non-coding segments of the gene.