Stimulation of microtubule assembly by recombinant human interferon-α and interferon-γ

Interferon-α (IFN-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) have been demonstrated to stimulate microtubule assembly measured in the in vitro assembly system. The process is substoichiometric occurring when the interferon concentrations are below that of tubulin. IFN-γ is a more potent effector than IFN-α. The critical tubulin concentration describing microtubule assembly decreases from 1.5 mg/ml measured in the absence of added effector to 1.05 mg/ml and 1.3 mg/ml when measured in the presence of 2.16·10 −6 M IFN-γ and 3.06·10 −6 M IFN-α, respectively.