Abstract
Treatment of leukaemic mouse L 1210 S cells with β or γ interferon results in the development of antiviral and anticellular effects, both of which are also induced by -interferon in L 1210 R cells selected for their resistance to γ-interferon. Here we show that treatment of L 1210 S cells with β or γ interferon results in the induction of two double-stranded (ds) RNA dependent enzymes which have been described previously in β and γ-interferon treated mouse L-929 cells: pppA (2′p5′A)n synthetase and protein kinase(s). Treatment of L 1210 R cells with β-interferon does not result in the induction of any detectable enhanced pppA (2′p5′1A)n synthetase and protein kinase activities whereas γ-interferon is capable of inducing both of these enzymes. These results indicate that although β and γ-interferon induce similar intracellular events, they may have different mechanism of interaction with their target cells.
In addition, here we show that similar to the action of β-interferon, treatment of mouse embryonal carcinoma cells with γ-interferon results in the induction of pppA (2′p5′A)n synthetase in the absence of any detectable protein kinase activity or any apparent development of antiviral and anti-cellular effects. The significance of this in relation to the mechanism of action of interferon is discussed.
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