Induction of human beta-interferon synthesis with poly(rI . rC) in mouse cells transfected with cloned cDNA plasmids

Human genomic DNA and plasmids carrying portions of the cDNA gene for human beta-interferon have been introduced into mouse Ltk- cells by cotransfection with a herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK) gene. One plasmid contains 840 base pairs of human DNA complementary to pre-beta-interferon mRNA inserted into pBR322, whereas the other plasmids have hybrid genes containing only the 560-base pair coding region inserted under the transcriptional control of the TK promoter. Constitutive interferon production could not be detected in any of the mouse TK+ cell lines tested. Nevertheless, synthesis of interferon could be induced by poly(rI . rC) treatment in at least 16 of these cell lines, including clones transfected with genomic DNA, the beta-interferon cDNA, and the TK-beta-interferon cDNA hybrid gene. The interferon produced was specific for human cells and could be neutralized by antiserum against human beta-interferon. In contrast to human fibroblast cells, in which the synthesis of induced beta-interferon is transient, the poly(rI . rC)-induced TK+ lines continued to produce beta-interferon for prolonged periods of time and did not respond to superinduction conditions. Therefore, in transfected mouse cells, the coding DNA sequence from the human beta-interferon gene, without any of the adjacent 3' or 5' flanking human DNA sequences, was sufficient both to direct synthesis of biologically active product and to respond to the specific induction system that operates in human cells. However, the mechanism that switches off the synthesis of induced interferon in human cells appears not to operate in mouse cells transfected with beta-interferon cDNA.