IMMUNOMODULATING PROPERTIES OF SYNTHETIC FRAGMENTS OF HUMAN INTERLEUKIN-2

For the study of the antigenic structure and function of human interle ukin 2, the peptides corresponding to its 60-72 sequence were synthesi zed by conventional methods of peptide chemistry in solution. To enhan ce the stability of the synthetic peptides towards the proteolysis and to remove their terminal charges, we acetylated their NH2 groups and esterified with methanol their carboxyls. Some of these peptides were converted from being cytotoxic to possessing strong growth-stimulating activity for the preliminaryly activated macrophages both in vitro an d in vivo. The biologically active peptides were also shown to enhance regeneration-reparation processes in liver and skin.