ELECTROINDUCTION OF INTERFERON-LIKE PROTEINS

To investigate the phenomena of electroinduction, human leukocytes/lymphocytes were exposed to electric pulses with a frequency of 2 Hz, duration time of 0.5-mu-s and voltage of 250 V, for a period of 30 min. After 18 h of incubation at 37-degrees-C, the samples were collected and analyzed. The proteins found were very similar in their behaviour to interferons (antiviral activity against Herpes simplex virus type 1 in vitro, antiproliferative activity against transformed human cells, sensitivity to pH 2 and to a temperature of 56-degrees-C), and very much alike in molar mass (45.000 D) to tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Their isoelectric point (4.3) showed a similarity to subtype IV of human alpha-interferon (IFN). In spite of the great similarity of the unknown proteins to cytokines, immuno blot tests with monoclonal antibodies against interferon alpha, acidolabile, gamma, TNF and interleukin 2 did not reveal their identity.