Effect of interferon on dimethyl sulfoxide-stimulated Friend erythroleukemic cells: ultrastructural and biochemical study

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Abstract
Treatment of dimethyl sulfoxide-stimulated Friend [murine] erythroleukemic cells (clone 745) with mouse interferon (50 U/ml) led to the following changes: a net decrease (40-60%) in both the total number of apparently newly synthesized virion particles per cell section and in the average number of cell sections containing 1 or more virion particles; a large decrease (80-90%) in the number of particles released into the supernatant fluid, as assayed by reverse transcriptase activity; an initial increase in the number of immature or enveloped A-type virions followed by an increase in the accumulation of empty, core shell-like particles; and a decrease in the number of cytoplasmic vacuolar structures, which were implicated as a major site of [murine leukemia] virus production and which were shown, by serial sectioning in several instances, to be invaginations of the plasma membrane. The effects on virus production were noticeable 2 h after interferon addition and reached their full extent by 13 h. Interferon apparently acts upon the late stage(s) of virion maturation, leading both to a decrease in viron production and to the formation of defective particles. A small but significant increase in the rate at which globin mRNA and Hb accumulate is observed after interferon treatment.