Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213.
J Gen Physiol. 1970 Jul 1;56(1):25-40. doi: 10.1085/jgp.56.1.25.
An increasing number of nonviral materials of microbial origin has been reported to stimulate the production of interferon in cell cultures and (or) in animals. These materials include (a) gram-negative bacteria or the endotoxins prepared from their cell walls, (b) other microorganisms such as Rickettsiae, Bedsoniae, Protozoa, and (c) fungal products such as a mannan from Candida and various antibiotics which act as protein synthesis inhibitors, e.g., glutarimide antibiotics and tenuazonic acid. A summary is presented of the current state of knowledge about interferon production in animals by the most thoroughly studied nonviral substance of microbial origin, bacterial endotoxin. Further evidence is presented which clearly distinguishes the "endotoxin-type" of interferon response in animals from the response seen after the injection of virus. The data suggest that the release of preformed interferon from the tissues occurs in animals injected with endotoxin. On the other hand, interferon produced in response to the injection of virus is newly synthesized protein. While the exact chemical structure of the component of bacterial endotoxin responsible for interferon release has not yet been elucidated, it is clear that the lipid portion of the lipopolysaccharide, rather than the O-specific polysaccharide side chains or the core polysaccharide, is the active moiety.
越来越多的微生物来源的非病毒物质已被报道能刺激细胞培养物和（或）动物中干扰素的产生。这些物质包括（a）革兰氏阴性细菌或其细胞壁制备的内毒素，（b）其他微生物，如立克次氏体、贝氏疏螺旋体、原生动物，和（c）真菌产物，如来自念珠菌的甘露聚糖和各种作为蛋白质合成抑制剂的抗生素，如戊二酰亚胺抗生素和 tenuazonic 酸。本文总结了目前对微生物来源的最深入研究的非病毒物质细菌内毒素在动物中产生干扰素的知识状况。进一步的证据清楚地区分了动物体内“内毒素型”干扰素反应与注射病毒后所见的反应。这些数据表明，在注射内毒素的动物中，组织中预先形成的干扰素被释放。另一方面，针对病毒注射而产生的干扰素是新合成的蛋白质。虽然负责释放干扰素的细菌内毒素成分的确切化学结构尚未阐明，但很清楚，脂多糖的脂质部分而不是 O-特异性多糖侧链或核心多糖是活性部分。
