To gain more insight into similarities of different interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) species, we evaluated neutralization and immunoactivity of a variety of IFN preparations with various monoclonal antibodies (IFN-alpha mAb). Nine IFN-alpha mAb obtained through immunization with recombinant IFN-alpha (rmAb), lymphoblastoid IFN-alpha (LY mAb), and leukocyte IFN-alpha (LE mAb) were tested. The IFN-alpha mAb were evaluated for their ability to neutralize the antiviral activity of 11 recombinant IFN-alpha subtypes, two recombinant IFN-alpha hybrids, and lymphoblastoid and leukocyte IFN-alpha preparations. The same IFN-alpha mAb were also used in immunoblotting, and some of them were used in immunoaffinity chromatography. The results of the neutralization assay reveal that the IFN-alpha mAb significantly differ in their ability to neutralize the individual IFN-alpha species. Interestingly, none of the IFN-alpha mAb was able to neutralize all the IFN-alpha species. In particular, rmAb were unable to neutralize LE-IFN-alpha or LY-IFN-alpha, whereas LE mAb and LY mAb efficiently neutralized rIFN-alpha2. In some cases, the epitopes to which IFN-alpha mAb are directed were identified through the use of synthetic fragments of IFN-alpha2 or by evaluating the selectivity in binding to IFN-alpha subtypes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.