PRODUCTION OF INTERLEUKIN-8

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce highly pure interleukin-8 having neutrophil chemotactic factor activities in an industrial scale by fragmenting an interleukin-8 solution obtained by culturing eukaryotic cells, and subjecting the fragmented fraction to a pH treatment within a specific acidic region. SOLUTION: An interleukin-8 solution obtained by culturing eukaryotic cells such as animal cells and insect cells is fractionated by a chromatography using a silica-based adsorption carrier and the fractionated fraction is subjected to a pH treatment (pH 3-7) at 2-40 deg.C for 2 hr to 14 days. The pH-treated product is subjected to the chromatography using a cation exchanger to provide a highly pure product of 72 amino acids-type interleukin-8 from the solution of the interleukin-8 having heterozygous N-terminal in an industrial scale. The interleukin-8 is one kind of cytokines and has neutrophil chemotactic factor activities. The affinity to human neutrophils of 72 interleukin-8 is ten times stronger than that of 77-interleukin-8 and the 72-interleukin-8 is useful as a medicine.