Human Lymphoblastoid Interferon: Purification, Amino Acid Composition, and Amino-Terminal Sequence

This article was the result of collaboration between various members of Anfinsen's lab at the NIAMD with Hunkapiller and Hood at Caltech. In it, they addressed the difficult problem of determining the amino acid sequence of Human Lymphoblastoid Interferon (HuIFN-alpha). Earlier attempts to sequence the amino-terminal portion of this molecule using conventional methods failed due to insufficient quantities of interferon. Through this collaboration, Anfinsen's lab developed a microsequencer, a technology that allowed them to obtain amino acid sequence data on 10 to 20 picomoles of protein. Because of this, they were able to successfully determine the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the major component of human lymphoblastoid interferon (HuIFN-alpha).