Comparison of antiviral activities of cloned and native human interferons against herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and human cytomegalovirus.

Five recombinant alpha interferons and two recombinant beta interferons have been tested for their ability to inhibit yields of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and human cytomegalovirus in human embryonic lung cells. All of the alpha species and both of the beta forms (cysteine and serine) were active against the herpesviruses tested in this study. Neither the recombinant alpha nor the recombinant beta interferons exceeded the activity of the native species against herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2. However, the recombinant beta interferons inhibited cytomegalovirus more than either the native beta or the alpha interferon species with the exception of interferon alpha K (alpha 6).