Interferon-α and Interferon-γ Induced Modulation of Proteins in Human Corneal Fibroblasts

Abstract

Little is known about the effects of interferon (IFN) on cell function in the eye. We have analyzed the effect of INF-α and IFN-γ on the expression of proteins in cultured human corneal fibroblasts. Treatment with IFN-α increased the synthesis of proteins of 84, 76, 52, and 28 kD and decreased the synthesis of a 72-kD protein. Treatment with IFN-γ increased the synthesis of proteins of 83, 66, 64, 54, and 47 kD. The effect of IFN-α and IFN-γ were first detected at 5–9 h and 9 h, respectively, after the addition of the IFNs and were maximal at 17 and 24 h, respectively. Most of the changes were seen at doses of 1 × 10¹ to 1 × 10² U/ml of IFN-α or IFN-γ and were maximal at 1 × 10² to 1 × 10³ U/ml. Thus, each IFN induced distinct proteins based on apparent molecular weight and isoelectric point. These results show that IFN-α and IFN-γ affect the synthesis of small groups of distinct proteins in human corneal fibroblasts.