Abstract
We have studied the relative contribution made to the production of interferon (IFN) in vitro in response to Sendai virus by the cells of different types present in human peripheral blood, with particular emphasis on the amounts of poly(A) plus RNA extractable from each subpopulation and its content of IFN mRNA. Peripheral blood cells were fractionated by conventional techniques, and the amounts of IFN made after induction with Sendai virus were measured. The proportion of IFN-producing cells in the various fractions was determined by immunofluorescent staining. Poly(A) plus RNA was extracted from each population and the content of IFN mRNA determined by microinjection into Xenopus laevis oocytes. Information obtained in these three ways was essentially concordant, and showed that monocytes and E rosette-negative lymphocytes predominantly contribute to IFN production.
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