The interferon dose response curve and its possible significance

Computer simulation of alternative sampling strategies to estimate risk of infection from Cryptosporidium

Estimation of acceptably safe levels of biological contaminants in drinking water requires fitting a mathematical model to infection rates observed in small samples of human subjects. Because of obvious constraints on exposing human subjects to infective conditions, it is not feasible to compare the utilities of alternative sampling strategies and research designs using data from real experiments. Computer simulation methods were used to generate sample data having known probabilities of infection determined by an exponential or log-linear infectivity model. Experimental conditions that were examined included variations in the total available sample size, strategies for allocating subjects among different test concentrations, and methods for fitting a prediction model to the observed data. Results confirmed that data obtained by exposing most subjects to a concentration that produces an infection rate approximating 50% and calculating the sample regression coefficient for the log-linear model as the average infectivity-to-concentration ratio provided the best estimates of safe concentration. Exposing a single subject to each successively higher test level until an initial infection is observed, and exposing all remaining subjects at that level, or an adjacent log-concentration level is a tactic supported by the empirical results.

A fast-acting cytotoxin derived from Con A-activated porcine leukocytes. II. Mechanism of target cell lysis

Serum-free culture supernatants of Con A-stimulated pig leukocytes contain cytotoxins (PCT) which have a fast-acting lytic effect on a variety of murine lymphomas. Mathematical analysis revealed that the cytodestructive reaction which leads to the immediate release of 51Cr from labeled target cells follows "single hit"/"first order" kinetics. The release of labeled compounds was found to be size dependent, such that low molecular isotope (86Rb) was released at faster rates than high molecular 51Cr-labeled complexes. The 51Cr release was strongly reduced by lowering the temperature to 4 degrees C. PCT-mediated target cell lysis could be competed by cold target cells and the factor could be absorbed by intact cells, plasma membranes and artificial liposomes. Neither the presence of EDTA or of various monosaccharides, nor exposure of target cells to trypsin, metabolic inhibitors, and cytoskeletal antagonists altered the target cells susceptibility to PCT-mediated lysis. Labeling of target cell DNA and subsequent exposure of these target cells to PCT revealed that target cell DNA is degraded into low-molecular-weight split products which is similar to that seen during T-cell mediated target cell lysis. The analysis of the lytic event mediated by PCT thus revealed similarities to T-cell mediated target cell lysis. PCT was clearly distinct from the well-known cytolytic agents lymphotoxin (LT), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), or complement (C'). Taken together, the described characteristics make PCT a unique-acting cytolytic cytokine with anticancer activity and suggest further research concerning its mode of action and its possible therapeutic application.

Interferon--present and future prospects

The interferons are a group of proteins that have inspired a new era of investigation into biological modification. The interferons are now divided into subgroups characterized by chemical means and correspond to different biological responses which can be observed in terms of the inducer used, and the timing of the response. Identified originally as antiviral agents when homologous cell systems were treated prior to infection, new studies have extended these observations to place the interferons in a central role as a strong force in the regulation of immunologic responses. A marriage of interferonology and cell immunology is enlarging both our understanding of the action of these proteins and our ability to follow the course of an illness and eventually to control its outcome . Genetic engineering has provided a way to process quantities of interferon and provided the molecular sequence of all three classes of IFN including a model of the active site for IFN-alpha. The offshot of the technology developed to study the intracellular processes after interferon treatment have already led to increased sensitivity to detect virally treated diseases. Both the variety of the interferon inducers and the scope of parasites in which it can exert its influence provide a frontier of biological investigation which has at the root of its nature the very secret of life. In addition to cellular phenomena, the positive effects on tumor-bearing organisms and the ill effects on infant animals highlight the potential power of the interferons.

Rabbit tumor necrosis factor: mechanism of action

Rabbit tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was examined for effects on normal and transformed cells in culture. Several assays for killing of L-929 cell targets were developed, and their sensitivities were compared. Normal cells were not killed by TNF, and the discrimination between normal and transformed cells was shown not to be due to a cell cycle-dependent mechanism. TNF killing of L-929 cells was delayed for 10 to 12 h and thereafter showed concentration and time-dependent increases in cytolysis. Actinomycin D or cycloheximide treatment of L-929 cells resulted in an enhancement of the rate of cell killing as well as a shortening of the preceding lag period. TNF killing of L-929 cells was temperature dependent; cells were considerably more resistant to lysis at 25 degrees C and showed enhanced killing at 39 degrees C as compared to 37 degrees C controls. The slope of the dose curve showed less than single-hit kinetics. A model for cell killing whose general features incorporate both the specificity and catalytic properties of an enzymatic reaction is proposed for TNF action.

Response of cloned progeny of clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus to human leukocyte interferon

First- and third-generation cloned progeny viruses were derived from clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus and examined for their sensitivities to human interferon by inhibition of plaque formation in Vero cells. The dose-response curves obtained with the first- and third-generation clones were similar to those obtained with the parental isolates, and both the parent and the clones showed similar sensitivities to interferon. These results suggest that clinical isolates of herpes simplex virus consist of a homogeneous population of virus particles with respect to interferon sensitivity. The dose-response curves obtained with herpes simplex virus demonstrated a shallower slope than those obtained with vesicular stomatitis virus. Vesicular stomatitis virus plaque formation as completely inhibited at high concentrations of interferon, whereas complete inhibition of plaque formation by herpes simplex virus did not occur at the highest concentration of interferon used. Cloned progeny were derived from plaques appearing in the presence of high concentrations of interferon. The dose-response curves and interferon sensitivities of these clones were similar to those of the parent and third-generation clone from which they were derived. There was no evidence for genetic heterogeneity with respect to interferon sensitivity.

Mechanism of interferon uptake in parental and somatic monkey-mouse hybrid cells

Dose-response curves of interferons in different sensitive cells are regularly sigmoidal. In somatic monkey-mouse hybrid cells, however, a significant decrease in the slope of the curve for primate interferon was observed, while the dose-response effect was unaltered for mouse interferon. High concentrations of primate interferon were 10- to 100-times less effective in hybrid clones than in parental monkey CV-1 cells; at low concentrations the antiviral effect was 10- to 20-times higher in hybrid clones than in the parental cells. The receptor(s) for primate interferon located on the cell membrane was destroyed by trypsin but not by EDTA. Similarly, acid pH inactivated these receptor sites. We, thus, postulate that the antiviral effect is, at least partially, related to the amount of interferon taken up by the cells. Uptake could be conditioned by active cooperation of two cell-specific factors: a receptor and an activator. The activator might be missing or inactivated for primate interferon in the hybrid cells. We suggest that the putative antiviral protein is not cell-species specific, and that information for its synthesis in the hybrid cells might be located on a mouse rather than a monkey chromosome.