• BMB Reports
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.365-371
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• 1996

Partially reduced interferon-a ($IFN-{\alpha}$) was cross-linked with thymosin ${\alpha}1$ ($T{\alpha}1$) using sulfo-succinimidyl (4-iodoacetyl) amino benzoate (SIAB), a bifunctional cross-linking reagent. The partially reduced $IFN-{\alpha}$ optimal for the cross-linking reaction was obtained by incubating native $IFN-{\alpha}$ with 0.5 mM DTT at $30^{\circ}C$ for 60~100 min. $T{\alpha}1$ was activated by incubating with sulfo-SIAB at $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 min to produce $T{\alpha}1-IAB$. The $T{\alpha}1-IFN-{\alpha}$ cross-linking was achieved by the reaction of the partially reduced $IFN-{\alpha}$ with $T{\alpha}1-IAB$. This cross-linking was between the sulfhydryl group of Cys1 in $IFN-{\alpha}$ and the N-terminal amino group of $T{\alpha}1$ through acetyl amino benzoate as a spacer. The immunological activity of the cross-linked molecule showed the same extent as that of $T{\alpha}1$, and most of the antiviral activity was retained compared to that of the partially reduced $IFN-{\alpha}$.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.185-194
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• 1994

The present study was undertaken to assess the role of cytokines in the activation of peritoneal macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice. Peritoneal macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice (10 cysts of Beverley strain/mouse) were harvested 8 weeks after infection, and incubated with the mitogen-induced lymphokine, recombinant mouse $interferon-{\gamma}(IFN-{\gamma})$, recombinant mouse tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}{\;}(TNF-{\alpha})$ alone or in combination with 4$IFN-{\gamma}(IFN-{\gamma}/TNF-{\alpha})$ for 24hr at 37^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$. Macrophage activation was measured by the amount of $H_20_2{\;}and{\;}N0_2^{-}$ production, and antiToxoplasma activities of macrophages. $IFN-{\gamma}{\;}or{\;}IFN-{\gamma}/TNF-{\alpha}-treated$ macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice revealed significantly higher $H_20_2$ production than resident macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice. The production of $N0_2^{-}{\;}by{\;}TNF-{\alpha}-,{\;}IFN-{\gamma}-{\;}or{\;}IFN-{\gamma}/TNF-{\alpha}-treated$ macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice were significantly higher than that by resident macrophages, whereas lymphokine-treated group produced similar amount as that produced by resident macrophages. Anti-Toxoplasma activities of cytokinetreated macrophages from Toxoplasma-infected mice were Significantly higher than those of resident macrophages. $IFN-{\gamma}-treated$ macrophages were significantly increased production of $H_20_2{\;}and{\;}N0_2^{-}$, and anti-Toxoplasma activities of macrophages between normal and Toxoplasma-infected mice, whereas the other cytokine-treated groups were not significant differences between them. These data suggested that IFN-{\gamma}was the only one of cytokines capable of significantly activating the peritoneal macrophages from Toxoplasmainfected mice.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.477-483
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• 1995

The recombinant human interferon alpha 2a ($rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$), expressed in Saccharomyces cerevtsiae, was purified from insoluble aggregates. The inclusion body of $rhIFN-{\alpha}$ was solubilized by guanidine salt in the presence of disulfide reducing agent. The refolding of denatured $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ was achieved by simple dilution. The authentic interferon alpha, which has two correctly matched disulfide bonds, was seperated from incompletely oxidized $IFN-{\alpha}$ and dimeric $IFN-{\alpha}$ by use of a CM-Sepharose column, followed by size exclusion columns at two different pH conditions. The purified protein has been subjected to detailed physicochemical characterization including sequence determination. Unlike other $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ from E. coli reported, the $rhIFN-{\alpha}2a$ from S. cerevisiae has no methionine residue at its N-terminus originating from the start codon, ATG. The pI of the protein was determined to be 6.05 with a single band in the pI gel, which demonstrated that the purified $rhIFN-{\alpha}$ was homogeneous. The structural study using circular dichroism showed that the protein retains its three dimensional structure in the wide range of pH conditions between pH 3 and 9, and only minor strucural deformation was observed at pH 1.0.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.195-200
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• 1990

The growth behavior of recombinant Escherichia coli cells having plasmid pIF-III-B, which carries human alpha-interferon gene under the control of lpp promoter, lac promoter and lac operator, was studied by using of various E. coli host strains. Expression of the alpha-IFN gene is controllable by using inducer IPTG because the plasmid also contains lacI gene which produces lac regressors. The repressors block the transcription of alpha-IFN gene. There were considerable differences in cell growth according to the host strains used. Cell growth was inhibited not only by plasmid pIF-III-B itself but also by the induction of alph-a-IFN gene expression. Growth inhibition caused by the plasmid itself was more serious than that caused by the induction of alpha-IFN gene expression.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-44
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• 1987

A fertility study was carried out in Sprague Daxley rats which have been given the intravenous or intraperitoneal injections of rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A, a commecially available therapeutic agent, at dose levels of $1{\times}10^5$, $4{\times}10^5$ and $1.2{\times}10^6$ I.U/kg/day. Male rats were treated with rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A from 60 days before pairing and until the completion of mating. Femal rats received rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A for 22days prior to mating and up to day of gestation. All pregnant females were sacrificed on day 20 of gestation and all fetuses were examined for abnormalities. Both the male and female animals treated with rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A did not show any abnormal responses. No abnormal signs were seen in reproducibility for the rats treated with rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A. No External, internal and skeletal anomalies attributable to rHuIFN-${\alpha}$A were observed in the fetuses. It was concluded that rHuIFN-${\alpha}A$ had no harmful effect on mating, fertilization, implantation, or embryonic development.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.213-216
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• 1987

The distribution features of recombinant human $alpha-interferon(rHuIFN-{\alpha}A)$ and $^{14}C-radiolabeled\;rHuIFN-{\alpha}A\;(^{14}C-rHuIFN-{\alpha}A)$ were investigated in ICR mice after i.v. injection. The level of $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$ in the kidney was significantly higher than those in lung and liver at 10min after the injection. But the level was reduced significantly at 60min. The level of radioactivity in the kidney was also significantly higher than those in other organs after i.v. injection of $^{14}C-rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$, but it was reduced at much slower speed than was $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$. These results show that interferon is distributed repidly and the kidney is the main site of distribution and metabolism of $rHuIFN-{\alpha}A$.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.176-182
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• 2011

The study objective was to prepare biodegradable branched dextran microspheres encapsulated with His-tagged interferon-alpha (BDM-hIFN-${\alpha}$) and evaluate its activity in vitro and in vivo. The glycidyl methacrylate derivatized dextrans (Dex-GMA) as precursor was primarily synthesized by substituting hydroxyl groups of either the branched or linear type of dextran with GMA. Dex-GMA microspheres loaded with hIFN-${\alpha}$ was then prepared by the water-in-water emulsion technique. In vitro release and Western blotting experiments demonstrated the retained activity of hIFN-${\alpha}$ released from branched dextran microspheres at 24 h by inducing phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator transcription-1 (STAT-1), a down-stream effector of IFN-${\alpha}$, in HepG2 cells. Animal data further revealed a peak of plasma levels of IFN-${\alpha}$ in rats injected intravenously with BDM-hIFN-${\alpha}$ at 10 min post-injection, but a sharp decline at 2 h. High plasma levels of neopterin, a plasma protein induced by IFN-${\alpha}$, were also detected in rats injected with BDM-hIFN-${\alpha}$ at 10 min post-injection. Notably, plasma levels of neopterin remained high at 4 h, but largely declined thereafter.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.149-154
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• 2000

Background: Interleron-gamma(IFN-$\gamma$) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-$\alpha$) playa critical role in protective immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection The change of IFN-$\gamma$ and TNF -$\alpha$ producing capacity in the course of antituberculous chemotherapy in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis was evaluated in this study. Method: In 29 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, phytohemagglutinin(PHA) or purified protein derivative(PPD) stimulated production of IFN-$\gamma$ and TNF-$\alpha$ by peripheral blood mononuclear cells was quantified. Five patients were sampled before they underwent antituberculous treatment, 11 patients after 0-4 months, six after 4-completion and seven after treatment completion. Result: There was no difference in PHA- or PPD-stimulated production of IFN-$\gamma$ and TNF-$\alpha$ between each group. Conclusion: No difference in PHA- or PPD- stimulated production of IFN-$\gamma$ and TNF-$\alpha$ between two groups could be identified according to their treatment with pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.702-709
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• 2003

Purpose : $IFN{\gamma}$ sentitizes many tumor cells to $TNF{\alpha}$ and FASL-mediated apoptosis by enhancing the expression of TNF or FAS/CD95 receptor and modulating the activation of caspase and Bcl-2 family. It has been reported that $IFN{\gamma}$ and $TNF{\alpha}$ synergistically caused differentiation and growth inhibition of neuroblastoma cells. Even though some neuroblastoma cell express FASR/FASL on the cell surface, they could not induce apoptosis by ligation of the FAS/CD95 receptor. But the treatment of $IFN{\gamma}$ is reported to induce apoptosis in some neuroblastoma cell lines through the CD95/CD95L autocrine circuit. In this study, we examined whether $IFN{\gamma}$ could affect $TNF{\alpha}$ and agonistic FAS/CD95 antibody(CH-11)-induced apoptosis against neuroblastoma cell lines that had shown diverse drug sensitivity and resistance. Methods : CHLA-15, CHLA-90 and LA-N-2 neuroblastoma cells were cultured in IMDM and treated with recombinant $IFN{\gamma}$, $TNF{\alpha}$ and CH-11 antibody. Cell viability was measured by DIMSCAN with a fluorescent calcein-AM. Apoptosis was analyzed through flow cytometry using Annexin V-PE and 7-ADD staining and confirmed by pancaspase and caspase-8 blocking experiments. The expression of TNF RI and FAS/CD95 receptor was evaluated by flow cytometry using the corresponding antibody and PE-conjugated secondary antibody. Results : $IFN{\gamma}$ or $TNF{\alpha}$ alone had no demonstrable cytotoxic effects, whereas both cytokines in combination induced apoptosis synergistically in CHLA-15 and CHLA-90 cells. Although there was no cytotoxicity with the ligation of CH-11 alone in CHLA-90 cells, pretreatment of $IFN{\gamma}$ increased the sensitivity of CH-11-mediated apoptosis. The expression of TNFRI and FAS/CD95R were non-specifically enhanced after treatment of $IFN{\gamma}$ without relation to sensitivity to $TNF{\alpha}$ and CH-11. This finding suggest up-regulation of both receptors may contribute to sensitization of $TNF{\alpha}$ and CH-11-mediated apoptosis by $IFN{\gamma}$ in only sensitive cell lines. Conclusion : $IFN{\gamma}$ induced sensitization of $TNF{\alpha}$ and agonistic FAS/CD95 antibody-mediated apoptosis on some neuroblastoma cells through up-regulation of TNFRI and FAS/CD95 receptor.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.319-325
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• 2002

The induction of interleukin-6 (IL-6) using combined proinflammatory agents $(LPS/IFN-{\gamma}\;or\;TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma})$ was studied in relation to p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and $NF-{\kappa}B$ transcriptional factor in primary neonatal cardiomyocytes. When added to cultures of cardiomyocytes, the combined agents $(LPS/IFN-[\gamma}\;or\;TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma})$ had stimulatory effect on the production of IL-6 and the elevation was significantly reduced by SB203580, a specific p38 MAPK inhibitor. SB203580 inhibited protein production and gene expression of IL-6 in a concentration-dependent manner. In this study, $IFN-{\gamma}$ enhancement of $TNF-{\alpha}-induced\;NF-{\kappa}B$ binding affinity as well as p38 MAP kinase activation was observed. However, a specific inhibitor of p38 MAPK, SB203580, had no effect on $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}\;or\;LPS/IFN-{\gamma}-induced\;NF-{\kappa}B$ activation. This study strongly suggests that these pathways about $TNF-{\alpha}/IFN-{\gamma}$ or $LPS/IFN-{\gamma}-activated$ IL-6 release can be primarily dissociated in primary neonatal cardiomyocytes.