cDNA sequence identity for the type I interferon receptor subunit from cell lines of widely differing responsiveness...

Melanoma cell lines exhibit strikingly different sensitivity to the antiproliferative effects of interferon. cDNAs encoding the Type I interferon receptor subunit were amplified by polymerase chain reaction, using as template RNA isolated from three melanoma cell lines displaying greater than 100 fold range in their sensitivity to the antiproliferative effects of IFN-beta. Comparison of the cDNA sequences obtained with the published cDNA sequence from the highly interferon-sensitive lymphoid cell line Daudi revealed only one base change that leads to a conservative amino acid substitution. It is concluded that the cellular differences in responsiveness to interferon, of the melanoma cell lines tested, do not arise from the expression of variants of the cloned Type I interferon receptor subunit.