title: Interferon-alpha 8b is the only variant of interferon-alpha 8 identified in a large human population.
abstract: Three variants of human interferon (IFN)-alpha 8a gene, that is, IFN-alpha 8b, and IFN-alpha 8c, have been reported previously. They differ from each other by changes in their coding region at nucleotide positions 359-360, 372, and 550. Human genomic DNA obtained from over 28,000 healthy blood donors and from 4 human cell lines was used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) designed for specific amplification of the IFN-alpha 8 gene fragments. The resulting PCR product was analyzed by (1) restriction endonuclease digestion, (2) DNA sequencing, and (3) allele-specific secondary PCR amplification. Only one sequence for IFN-alpha 8 was identified, and that was for IFN-alpha 8b. The sequences for IFN-alpha 8a and IFN-alpha 8c were not detected after PCR amplification either in the pooled leukocytes obtained from > 28,000 individuals or in cell lines tested. These data suggest that the naturally occurring variant or allele for IFN-alpha 8 in the population is IFN-alpha 8b. IFN-alpha 8a and IFN-alpha 8c variants were consistently below the level of detection of the assays and, if present at all in the population, are very rare.
authors.affiliation: Interferon Sciences, Inc., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Testa
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D002460:Cell Line; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D005815:Genetic Code; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012016:Reference Values; D015183:Restriction Mapping
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha