The highest yields of gamma-interferon activity were obtained by using a fraction of mononuclears recovered from freshly collected donor blood in ficoll-verografin density gradient without using hemolysis. Unification of mononuclears from individual donors into a common pool stimulated interferon production. Staphylococcal enterotoxins A and B, concanavalin A, and lentyl-lectin were found to be the most effective inducers. Immobilization of inducers on neutral carriers reduced their effectiveness. Upon induction with lectin the synthesis was complete within 24 hours, and with enterotoxin in 3 days. In the latter instance the synthesis dynamics was of a two-phase nature. Gamma-interferon produced the antiviral condition later (in 10 hours) than alpha-interferon.

cDNA library was obtained from mRNA isolated from human leukocytes induced by Newcastle disease virus. Clones containing cDNA for alpha 2-interferons were identified by colony hybridization with two synthetic hexadecanucleotides. One of the positive clones contained a NH2-terminal part of cDNA of human interferon identical to cDNA for IFN-alpha 2. The only difference between these two clones was the Ser-8 leads to Asn-8 substitution in deduced sequenced of mature interferons. This mutant interferon, named alpha 2, was expressed in E. coli and its properties were compared with those of interferon alpha 2.

A comparative study of biological properties of natural and plasmid human interferons was carried out. Natural and leukocyte interferons: alpha (induced by Newcastle disease virus) and gamma (induced by staphylococcal enterotoxin A) as well as natural fibroblastic beta interferon induced by poly(I) X poly(C) were studied in comparison with plasmid interferons alpha-F and alpha-F/D obtained from recombinant bacteria. Antigenic determinants of plasmid interferons alpha-F and alpha-F/D were found to be identical with those of natural and alpha-interferon of man and to differ from those of natural human alpha- and beta-interferons. Both plasmid interferons demonstrated the kinetics of development of the state of resistance to viruses in a human diploid cell culture typical of alpha-interferon but not of gamma-interferon from human leukocytes. Plasmid and natural alpha-interferons have similar anticellular activity for human tumor HeLa cells, similarly activate natural human killer cells and are similarly stabilized in the presence of 0.01 M lantan chloride. All these data permit a conclusion that plasmid human interferons alpha-F and alpha-F/D are analogous and close to the total preparation of natural alpha-interferon from human leukocytes. On the other hand, the range of cells sensitive to the antiviral effect of alpha-F and alpha-F/D interferons is wider than for leukocyte alpha-interferon, and stability on storage and heating is higher.