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. 1983 Jul 11;11(13):4307–4323. doi: 10.1093/nar/11.13.4307

Molecular cloning of human interleukin 2 cDNA and its expression in E. coli.

R Devos, G Plaetinck, H Cheroutre, G Simons, W Degrave, J Tavernier, E Remaut, W Fiers
PMCID: PMC326048  PMID: 6306584

Abstract

A recombinant plasmid containing human interleukin 2 (IL2) cDNA was identified in a cDNA library constructed from mRNA derived from PHA-TPA induced splenocytes. Using this cDNA as a hybridization probe, a DNA fragment containing the IL2 gene was isolated from a collection of hybrid phages derived from human genomic DNA. A unique reading frame was identified from the nucleotide sequence derived from these plasmids coding for a polypeptide of 153 amino acids and containing a putative signal sequence of 20 amino acids. A mature polypeptide starting with either Met-Ala-Pro or Met-Pro was expressed in E. coli under control of the E. coli trp promoter or using a combination of the phage lambda PL promoter and a ribosome binding site derived from phage Mu. The bacterial IL2 polypeptide had a molecular weight of 15,000 daltons and accounted for more than 10% of the total E. coli proteins in fully induced cells; it was biologically active in the T-cell specific DNA synthesis assay, even after recovery from a SDS-containing polyacrylamide gel.

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Selected References

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