Hu Renqiu, Lei Ke-Jian, Bekisz Joseph, Zoon Kathryn C
Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Methods Mol Med. 2005;116:69-80. doi: 10.1385/1-59259-939-7:069.
Interferon (IFN)-alphas constitute a family of proteins exhibiting high degree of homology in primary, secondary, and tertiary structure and display a high level of species specificity in their biological properties. However, small structural differences in these proteins may be responsible for a significant variety of biological actions. Understanding the structure and function of human IFN-alpha is very important. Recombinant techniques are important tools for the production and modification of IFN proteins. The first IFN hybrid, IFN-alpha1/alpha2 was constructed using recombinant technology in 1981. Subsequently, a number of IFN hybrids and mutants have been constructed, expressed and characterized. These hybrids and mutants have resulted in novel IFNs that either combine different biological properties from the parental proteins or have significantly different biological activity. Therefore, IFN hybrids and mutants have provided a powerful tool for studying the structure and function of these molecules. Also, these engineered IFNs may have important new therapeutic applications and may provide greater sights into understanding of the clinical activities of these molecules.
α干扰素（IFN-α）构成了一类蛋白质家族，它们在一级、二级和三级结构上具有高度同源性，并且在生物学特性上表现出高度的种属特异性。然而，这些蛋白质中微小的结构差异可能导致多种多样的生物学作用。了解人α干扰素的结构和功能非常重要。重组技术是生产和修饰IFN蛋白的重要工具。1981年利用重组技术构建了首个IFN杂交体，即IFN-α1/α2。随后，构建、表达并鉴定了许多IFN杂交体和突变体。这些杂交体和突变体产生了新型IFN，它们要么结合了亲本蛋白的不同生物学特性，要么具有显著不同的生物活性。因此，IFN杂交体和突变体为研究这些分子的结构和功能提供了有力工具。此外，这些经过工程改造的IFN可能具有重要的新治疗应用，并且可能为深入了解这些分子的临床活性提供更多见解。
