Open AccessCharacterization of anti‐interferon‐α antibodies appearing during recombinant interferon‐α2a treatment
Author(s) -
RöNNBLOM L. E.,
JANSONJ E. TIENSUU,
PERERS A.,
ÖBERG K. E.,
ALM G. V.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1992.tb06957.x
Subject(s) - interferon , immunology , recombinant dna , antibody , virology , medicine , biology , biochemistry , gene
SUMMARY Patients with malignant midgut carcinoid tumours received recombinant interferon‐alpha2a (rIFN‐α2a) or rIFN‐α2a and chemotherapy (streptozocin and doxorubicin) for 6 months, and then rIFN‐α2a alone. Antibodies, mainly of IgG type, binding to rIFN‐α2a developed in nine of 22 patients (41%), as determined by immunoassay. In seven patients, antibodies also neutralized the biologic (anti‐viral) activity of rIFN‐α2a. Anti‐IFN‐α2a antibodies were equally frequent in both sexes and treatment groups, but were not observed in those patients (n=8) that had previously received other types of IFN. Antibodies appeared after a median of 6 months of rIFN‐α2a treatment and had a median duration of 6 months. The anti‐IFN‐α2a antibody titres declined with time with no obvious relation to change of therapy, also during continued IFN‐α2a treatment. High titres of neutralizing antibodies appeared to impair anti‐tumoural effects in individual potential responders. Anti‐IFN‐α2a antibodies further examined in six patients bound to native IFN‐α subtypes present in both allogeneic and autologous leucocyte IFN‐α. Such autoantibodies neutralized the biologic activity of autologous IFN‐α in two patients, and in a third were partially neutralizing.