Effect of Dibutyryl Cyclic AMP on Interferon Production by Cells Treated with Viral or Nonviral Inducers 1

Abstract

Summary

Treatment of mouse L or rat embryo cells with dibutyryl cyclic AMP prevents, or strongly reduces, the production of interferon induced either by poly I.poly C or by Newcastle disease and Chikungunya viruses. The same effect was also observed in cells treated with adrenaline plus theophylline (enhancers of cyclic AMP). In addition the inhibitory activity of dibutyryl cyclic AMP was prevented by suppression of protein synthesis with cycloheximide. Preliminary evidence obtained using metabolic inhibitors suggests that the depression of interferon production may be due to an effect at the transcriptional level. The results are interpreted to indicate a possible role of cyclic AMP on the intracellular regulatory mechanisms of the interferon system.

Part of the experiments reported in this paper have been performed at the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD. The authors express their gratitude to Dr. S. Baron and Dr. H. B. Levy for their substantial help and criticism.