Isolation of two discrete human interferon-gamma (immune) subtypes by high-performance liquid chromatography

Multiple interferon subtypes: the phenomenon and its relevance

Over the last 10 years the structure of various human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) subtypes was elucidated by combining protein chemistry and molecular biology. In this article some key studies related to the interferon structure are reviewed. The significance of the multiplicity of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma subtypes is discussed in view of some current results.

Priming of leukocytes selectively increases the level of some interferon-alpha subtypes and not others

The effect of pretreatment with interferon (IFN) ('priming') on the production of individual IFN subtypes was studied in subpopulations of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in the myeloid cell line KG-1. It was found that priming had a selective enhancing effect on the production of certain IFN-alpha subtypes (IFN-alpha 20K and IFN-alpha 21K) and not on others. KG-1 cells produce both IFN-alpha and -beta; however, only the production of IFN-alpha was enhanced by priming with either IFN-alpha, beta or gamma.