Title : The human
interferon alpha/beta receptor : characterization and molecular cloning
Abstract :
- We describe a universal ligand-binding receptor for human interferons alpha and interferon beta (type I IFNs)
- A soluble 40 kDa IFN-alpha /beta receptor ( p40 ) that blocks the activity of type I IFNs was purified from urine and sequenced
- Antibodies raised against p40 completely block the activity of several type I IFNs and immuno-precipitate both a cellular 102 kDa IFN-alpha /beta receptor and its cross-linked complexes with IFN-alpha 2
- The receptor is a disulfide-linked dimer , consisting of 51 kDa subunits
- We isolated and expressed a 1.5 kb cDNA, coding for the IFN-alpha /beta receptor
- Its 331 amino acid sequence includes a leader and a transmembrane region , while its ectodomain corresponds to p40
- IFN-alpha /beta receptor is physically associated with the cytoplasmic Tyr kinase JAK1 , hence, in addition to ligand binding, it is directly involved in signal transduction