ANALYSIS OF INTERFERON-REGULATED PROTEINS BINDING THE INTERFERON-ALPHA-STIMULATED RESPONSE ELEMENT

Interferon mediates its biological effects of antiviral, antiprolifera tive, and immunomodulatory activities through induction of specific ge ne expression. Transcription of target genes is regulated through a se t of transcription factors that bind to specific cis-acting regulatory sequences in target promoters and enhancers. The activity or abundanc e of these transcription factors is modulated by interferon treatment. Because of their DNA binding activity, regulatory factors can be reco gnized and characterized using methods to detect protein-DNA complexes . The availability of antibodies directed against common interferon re gulatory proteins coupled with analysis of binding-site specificity pr ovides comprehensive analysis. (C) 1998 Academic Press.