De novo synthesis and secretion of a 36-kD protein by cells that form lupus inclusions in response to α-interferon

Abstract

In response to the pure recombinant human α-IFN, IFLrA, Raji and Daudi were the only two cell lines among 19 human lymphoblastoid cell lines tested that formed the human lupus inclusions (LI) to a high frequency. Raji, Daudi, and five other cell lines were examined for protein changes that might accompany LI formation. Their selection was based upon T or B origin, association with Epstein-Barr virus, and ability to form LI. A trace protein of an estimated molecular mass of 36 kD (p36) and an isoelectric point of 5.6 was detected on two-dimensional gels only of α-IFN-treated Raji and Daudi cells. Gamma-IFN did not induce p36 or LI in any of these seven cell lines. In Daudi cells p36 and LI formed simultaneously in response to IFLrA, and persisted until the α-IFN-induced death of the culture. In Raji cells, p36 and LI appearance and disappearance coincided with the addition and removal of α-IFN. Fractionation of Raji cells with nonionic-detergent buffer placed p36 with the inclusions in the cytoplasmic supernatant. With detergent-free buffer p36 and LI were distributed evenly between the nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that p36 was secreted. The de novo synthesis of p36 with α-IFN treatment was shown by labeling the cell proteins with [35S] methionine before and after the addition of α-IFN. These results along with previous results on the de novo synthesis of LI in the endoplasmic reticulum (which is involved in the processing and secretion of proteins) suggest a role for LI in the synthesis and secretion of p36.