CHARACTERIZATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF INTERLEUKIN-1 RECEPTORS ON BOVINE FIBROBLASTS

Interleukin-1 (IL-1), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, initiates its many biological effects by first binding to cell-surface receptors. Prior to this study, there were no published reports addressing the nature of the bovine IL-1 receptor. In this study, we characterized and identified cell-surface IL-1 receptors on bovine fibroblasts. Direct binding studies using [I-125]-labeled bovine IL-1beta demonstrated that bovine fibroblasts had approximately 130 high affinity and 2,500 low affinity binding sites (Kd = 4.9 x 10(-11) M and 3.7 x 10(-9) M, respectively). Competitive binding studies using unlabeled recombinant bovine IL-1beta, IL-2, IFN-alpha, and bovine insulin demonstrated that only unlabeled bovine IL-1beta competitively blocked fibroblast binding of [I-125]-labeled bovine IL-1beta. Affinity cross-linking of [I-125]-labeled IL-1beta to fibroblasts demonstrated that IL-1 receptors on bovine fibroblasts have an apparent M(r) of 71.5 kD. This report provides the first characterization and identification of IL-1 receptors on bovine fibroblasts.