title: The in vitro and in vivo effect of recombinant interferon alpha-2a on circulating haemopoietic progenitors in polycythaemia vera.
abstract: In four patients with polycythaemia vera (PV) who received interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) (3 MU subcutaneously three times a week) for 5 months, peripheral blood levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units and erythroid burst-forming units were assessed monthly. Circulating progenitors significantly decreased throughout the treatment period. Moreover, we observed an inhibitory activity of IFN-alpha on haemopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) from patients with PV in vitro. The data presented confirm previous research which has shown an inhibitory effect of IFN-alpha on HPC from patients with myeloproliferative disorders. Significant improvement in the patients' clinical and haematological conditions should encourage larger studies on IFN-alpha administration in PV patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castello
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lerza
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cerruti
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cavallini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bogliolo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pannacciulli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015672:Erythroid Precursor Cells / Q000276:immunology; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011087:Polycythemia Vera / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins