A high-affinity monoclonal antibody (GIF-1) to human gamma-interferon: neutralization of interferon mediated inhibition of retrovirus production and 2'-5' (A) synthetase induction.

An hybridoma clone secreting an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (GIF-1) specific for human gamma-interferon (HuIFN-gamma) has been generated using HAT medium supplemented with insulin (HIAT) at the initial stage of cell fusion. This antibody is capable of neutralizing the antiviral activity of HuIFN-gamma, the ability of HuIFN-gamma to inhibit retroviral replication in RD-114 cells, and the ability of HuIFN-gamma to induce the 2'-5' oligoadenylate (A) synthetase in RD-114 and HeLa cells. Eluate from an immunoaffinity column containing GIF-1 yielded two protein bands of molecular weight of 20 and 25 kd when subjected to SDS-PAGE.