Biological Activity of Recombinant Bovine Interferon τ Produced by a Silkworm-Baculovirus Gene Expression System

Abstract

Bovine interferon (bIFN) τ plays a crucial role in maternal-fetal recognition and was expressed using a Bombyx mori (Bm) nuclear polyhedrosis virus (silkworm baculovirus) gene expression system. The biological effects of Bm-recombinant bIFNτ (rbIFNτ) on prostaglandin (PG) F2α synthesis were investigated in cultured bovine endometrial epithelial cells with oxytocin (OT, 100 nM) and on the in vitro development of bovine embryos. Bm-rbIFNτ and OT were shown to suppress PGF2α production in a dose-dependent manner. When in vitro produced morula stage embryos were cultured for 72 hr in modified CR1aa medium supplemented with or without rbIFNτ, Bm-rbIFNτ (10 ng/ml) significantly promoted development to the expanded blastocyst stage. In conclusion, Bm-rbIFNτ was suggested to have the same bioactivity as native IFNτ.

A Recombinant Adenovirus Expressing Ovine Interferon Tau Prevents Influenza Virus-Induced Lethality in Mice

“…Recently, adenoviral vectors expressing type I IFN have been generated and shown to be efficient in the prevention of a number of viral diseases in vertebrate hosts, including SARS coronavirus infections in ferrets and Ebola virus infection in macaques (9)(10)(11)(12). IFN-is a type I interferon expressed in ruminants only which is known to induce low toxicity while maintaining its antiviral capacities (6,(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18). In contrast to other type I IFNs, IFN-can act on receptors from a broad range of species (17,19), and it has shown efficacy in reducing replication of different viruses, including human and feline immunodeficiency viruses (HIV and FIV), human papillomavirus (HPV) (7,20,21), and bovine leukemia virus (BKV) (8).…”