Enhanced level of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with viral infections.

The protein kinase activity dependent on double-stranded RNA was assayed in extracts of peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cells from healthy volunteers and in patients with different types of virus infections. The protein kinase was assayed after one-step purification on an immunoaffinity column containing monoclonal antibody against the 68,000 Mr protein, a subunit of the protein kinase. In healthy individuals, the activity of the protein kinase remains constant. In contrast, the activity of the protein kinase is enhanced significantly in patients with viral infections and is decreased during the course of the disease in parallel with clinical ameliorations and reversal of clinical symptoms. There is a strong correlation between the enhanced levels of the protein kinase activity and another interferon-mediated enzyme, 2-5A synthetase. Both of these enzymes, therefore, could be used as markers to evaluate the state of the disease and recovery. In the different populations of lymphocytes, most of the protein kinase activity was found to be present in T and B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes showing a higher activity than B lymphocytes.