Antiviral and antiproliferative activities of three molecular components of leukocyte-derived human interferon.

Antiviral and antiproliferative activities of three naturally occurring components of leukocyte-derived human interferon (HuIFN-alpha) separated by concanavalin A-agarose affinity chromatography were studied in a variety of neoplastic cell lines. Significant differences were seen with these different components. The results strongly suggest that careful consideration must be given while selecting any one component of HuIFN-alpha for any of the antiviral or antiproliferative studies. There is no clear evidence that glycosylation of HuIFN-alpha has any significant influence on its in vitro antiviral or antiproliferative activities, although apparently glycosylated and non-glycosylated components gave different antiviral and antiproliferative responses in different tumor cells.