Heterogeneity of interferon mRNA species from Sendai virus-induced human Iymphoblastoid (Namalva) cells and Newcastle disease virus-induced murine fibroblastoid (L) cells

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Abstract
Cytoplasmic polyadenylated RNA preparations obtained from Sendai-induced human lymphoblastoid (Namalva) cells and from Newcastle disease virus(NDV)-induced murine (L) cells were denatured in 10–12.5 mM CH3HgOH and then electrophoresed in 2% agarose tube gels containing 10 mM CH3HgOH, the RNA eluted from gel slices and translationally active interferon mRNA species located using the Xenopus oocyte assay. The interferons synthesized were characterized as α or β types based on neutralization tests using specific antisera against human or murine interferon-α and interferon-β. At least two species of mRNA for human interferon-α and two for human interferon-β were detected in RNA from Sendai-induced Namalva cells. These are (approximate mRNA length in parentheses) α(1.3 kb), α(1.9 kb), β(1.1 kb) and β(1.9 kb). Two populations of murine interferon mRNA of lengths approximately 1.4 kb and 3 kb were detected in mRNA preparations from NDV-induced L cells by electrophoresis. However, since the translation products of each of these two populations of mRNA consist of both murine interferon-α and murine interferon-β it is likely that both the 1.4 kb and 3 kb populations contain at least one species each of murine interferon-α and murine interferon-β mRNA.