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netLibrary - eBook Summary Structure-based Drug Design by ...

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Document<br />

A. IFN-τ Synthetic Peptide Studies<br />

Page 440<br />

A sheep blastocyst library was screened with a probe <strong>based</strong> on the N-terminal sequence of the IFN-τ<br />

protein and the cDNA obtained (Table 3). Surprisingly, it exhibited 45–55% homology with various<br />

IFNs from human, mouse, rat, and pig and 70% homology with bovine IFN-ω [12]. It shared both<br />

molecular weight (19 kDa) and pI (5.4–5.6) with IFN-αs, while its length, 172 amino acids, was<br />

equivalent to the IFN-ωs. In competition studies, IFN-τ was found to compete with IFNs α, β, and ω for<br />

binding to the Type I IFN receptor [13]. In contrast, IFN-τ exhibited several unique properties such as<br />

its reproductive function, its poor inducibility <strong>by</strong> virus, and its apparent reduced cytotoxicity. Thus, IFNτ<br />

conceptus protein appears to be a novel IFN.<br />

Structural studies began with production of overlapping synthetic peptides, each 30–35 amino acids in<br />

length, corresponding to the entire<br />

http://legacy.netlibrary.com/nlreader/nlReader.dll?bookid=12640&filename=Page_440.html (1 of 2) [4/9/2004 12:11:03 AM]

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