Interferon-α and Interferon-γ Induced Modulation of Proteins in Human Corneal Fibroblasts

Little is known about the effects of interferon (IFN) on cell function in the eye. We have analyzed the effect of INF-α and IFN-γ on the expression of proteins in cultured human corneal fibroblasts. Treatment with IFN-α increased the synthesis of proteins of 84, 76, 52, and 28 kD and decreased the synthesis of a 72-kD protein. Treatment with IFN-γ increased the synthesis of proteins of 83, 66, 64, 54, and 47 kD. The effect of IFN-α and IFN-γ were first detected at 5–9 h and 9 h, respectively, after the addition of the IFNs and were maximal at 17 and 24 h, respectively. Most of the changes were seen at doses of 1 × 10¹ to 1 × 10² U/ml of IFN-α or IFN-γ and were maximal at 1 × 10² to 1 × 10³ U/ml. Thus, each IFN induced distinct proteins based on apparent molecular weight and isoelectric point. These results show that IFN-α and IFN-γ affect the synthesis of small groups of distinct proteins in human corneal fibroblasts.