Nucleotide sequence of human monocyte interleukin 1 precursor cDNA.

TLDR

Interleukin 1 (IL‑1) is a protein with several biological activities regulating host defense and immune responses. We report here the isolation of human IL‑1 cDNA. mRNA isolated by hybridization to this cDNA was translated in a reticulocyte cell‑free system, yielding immunoprecipitable IL‑1. The cDNA encodes a 269‑amino‑acid precursor (30,747 Da) that is processed into the active 15–20 kDa IL‑1 protein, as demonstrated by immunoprecipitation and secretion from Xenopus oocytes.

Abstract

Interleukin 1 (IL-1) is a protein with several biological activities regulating host defense and immune responses. We report here the isolation of human IL-1 cDNA. It encodes a precursor polypeptide of 269 amino acids (30,747 Mr). mRNA isolated by hybridization to this cDNA was translated in a reticulocyte cell-free system, yielding immunoprecipitable IL-1. Furthermore, this hybrid-selected mRNA was injected into Xenopus laevis oocytes, which subsequently secreted biologically active IL-1. The cDNA nucleotide sequence suggests that IL-1 is initially translated as a precursor molecule that is subsequently processed into the 15,000-20,000 Mr protein usually associated with IL-1 activity.