Recombinant equine interferons: expression cloning and biological activity.
Abstract: Interferons (IFNs) are important mediators of the immune system. Their antiviral activity is an integral part of the innate immune defence, but all IFNs have immune regulatory functions also. Besides rec.eq.IFN-beta detailed descriptions on other rec.IFNs were lacking and none of the proteins was available. To compare the equine IFNs and allow detailed studies on proteins and bioactivity, we performed the expression cloning of rec.eq.IFN-alpha, -beta and -gamma. To achieve maximal expression, a bacterial expression system was chosen. Additionally, rec.eq.IFN-beta and -gamma were expressed in mouse B-cells. The antiviral activity was characterised using different cell lines and equine viruses. The results demonstrate a broad antiviral activity of rec.eq.IFN-alpha being active against all viruses tested, including the equine herpesviruses EHV-1 and -4, while rec.eq.IFN-beta was only active using primary horse cells. Protection depended on viruses, cell lines, infectious doses, amount and time of IFN action prior to infection. While rec.eq.IFN-gamma did not act antivirally, it was effective as an immune modulator of monocytes in vitro. The implications of our findings on clinical immunology and virology, including therapeutic applications of equine IFNs will be discussed.
Publication Date: 2002-02-05 PubMed ID: 11825600DOI: 10.1016/s0165-2427(01)00396-8Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This scientific study carried out the expression cloning of recombinant equine Interferons (IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, and IFN-gamma) and subsequently investigated their antiviral activity against various equines viruses using distinct cell lines.
Objective and Methodology
- The research aimed to examine the biological activity of recombinant equine interferons, including IFN-alpha, -beta, and -gamma.
- Through the process of expression cloning, these interferons were copied from a horse’s DNA and inserted into bacterial cells to obtain a large quantity of these proteins.
- The interferons were also expressed in mouse B-cells to ensure maximum production.
Antiviral Activity of Interferons
- The antiviral activity of these recombinant equine interferons was analyzed using different cell lines and a range of equine viruses.
- The study demonstrated wide-spectrum antiviral activity of recombinant equine IFN-alpha, which was active against all tested viruses, including equine herpesviruses EHV-1 and -4.
- In comparison, recombinant equine IFN-beta showcased antiviral activity only when using primary horse cells.
- The protective ability of these interferons varied greatly depending on the types of viruses, the host cell lines used, the infectious doses, and the duration and amount of Interferon action before infection.
Role of IFN-gamma and Therapeutic Applications
- Interestingly, the recombinant equine IFN-gamma did not exhibit an antiviral effect, but it proved to be an effective immune modulator of monocytes in the laboratory setting.
- These findings could have profound implications in clinical immunology and virology, as well as in the development of therapeutic applications involving equine Interferons.
Cite This Article
APA
Steinbach F, Mauel S, Beier I.
(2002).
Recombinant equine interferons: expression cloning and biological activity.
Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 84(1-2), 83-95.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0165-2427(01)00396-8 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute of Virology, FU Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 49, 14195, Berlin, Germany. steinbach@izw-berlin.de
MeSH Terms
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Antiviral Agents / pharmacology
- Cloning, Molecular
- Horses
- Interferons / biosynthesis
- Interferons / chemistry
- Interferons / pharmacology
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Recombinant Proteins / biosynthesis
- Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
- Recombinant Proteins / pharmacology
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Premraj A, Aleyas AG, Nautiyal B, Rasool TJ. Camelid type I interferons: Identification and functional characterization of interferon alpha from the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius). Mol Immunol 2020 Mar;119:132-143.
- de Pablo-Maiso L, Doménech A, Echeverría I, Gómez-Arrebola C, de Andrés D, Rosati S, Gómez-Lucia E, Reina R. Prospects in Innate Immune Responses as Potential Control Strategies against Non-Primate Lentiviruses. Viruses 2018 Aug 17;10(8).
- Haycock J, Maehr T, Dastjerdi A, Steinbach F. Asian elephant interferons alpha and beta and their anti-herpes viral activity. Front Immunol 2025;16:1533038.
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