Production of interferon-β in a culture of fibroblast cells on some polymeric films

Normal human skin (NB1-RGB) cells were cultured in the presence of polyinosinic and polycytidylic acids, diethylaminoethyl dextran, cycloheximide and actinomycin D, which induced human interferon-beta. The simplest induction method, that required only polyinosinic and polycytidylic acids and diethylaminoethyl dextran was found to give the highest production of interferon-beta by the cells. The cell growth and production of interferon-beta were investigated for NB1-RGB cells cultured on silk fibroin, poly(gamma-methyl-L-glutamate), poly(gamma-benzyl-L-glutamate) and collagen films prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and casting methods. The cell density of NB1-RGB cells cultured on the LB films was found to be higher than that on the cast films made of the same polymer. This indicates that not only the chemical structure of the polymers used for the preparation of the films but the preparation methods of the films, i.e., casting and LB methods, are also a strong factor affecting the cell growth. The production of interferon-beta per unit number of cells was found to be higher on the cast films than that on the LB films made of the same polymer. This is explained by the fact that the optimal suppressed growth of NB1-RGB cells on the cast films leads to the enhanced production of interferon-beta on the cast films compared to those on the LB films prepared by the same polymer.