Human leukocyte interferon: production, purification to homogeneity, and initial characterization.

A method of fractionating proteins by high-performance liquid partition chromatography has been developed and used for isolation and purification to homogeneity of one of the species of human leukocyte interferon. The homogeneous interferon exhibited a sharp peak on high-performance liquid chromatography and a single narrow band on sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. Extraction of the gel gave a single sharp peak of antiviral activity coinciding with the protein band. The specific activity of pure interferon was found to be 2--4 X 10(8) units/mg, based on amino acid analysis. The molecular weight is 17,500--18,000.