At least 23 different variants of Interferon-α are known. The individual proteins have molecular masses between 19-26 kD and consist of proteins with lengths of 156-166 and 172 amino acids. All IFN-α subtypes possess a common conserved sequence region between amino acid positions 115-151 while the amino-terminal ends are variable. Many IFN-α subtypes differ in their sequences at only one or two positions. Naturally occurring variants also include proteins truncated by 10 amino acids at the carboxyl-terminal end.
