Antiviral and antiproliferative properties of liposome-associated human interferon-gamma.

Recombinant human interferon-gamma (rHuIFN-gamma) was associated with liposomes in an attempt to improve its therapeutic efficiency. It was associated with liposomes composed of phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) at a ratio of 3:7, and of PS:PC and cholesterol (CHOL) at a ratio of 1:4:5 with efficiencies of 13% and 21%, respectively. The lipid composition influenced the antiviral activity of the liposome-complexed IFN-gamma tested against vesicular stomatitis virus. IFN associated with PS:PC liposomes was fully bioavailable and degraded by trypsin treatment. In contrast, PS:PC:CHOL-IFN was resistant to trypsin, and appeared latent as its full biological activity was seen only after disruption of the liposomes with detergent. Four human tumor cell lines were exposed to free and liposome-associated IFN-gamma. The growth of three solid tumor lines (colon, bladder, and lung) was inhibited by similar concentrations of free IFN and PS:PC-IFN. In contrast, less PS:PC-IFN than free IFN was needed to inhibit histiocytic lymphoma cells. Higher concentrations of PS:PC:CHOL-IFN than of free IFN were needed to inhibit growth of all four cell lines. The specificity of these effects of liposome-associated IFN-gamma were shown by their partial or complete neutralization by antibody to IFN-gamma. When liposome-IFN complexes of either type were stored at 4 degrees C, 30% of the IFN activity remained after 7 days; thereafter, decay was minimal over the next 3 weeks. These data show the formation of stable HuIFN-gamma-liposomes and indicate that the lipid components of these complexes influence their antiviral and antiproliferative activity for several different cell types.