title: High-titre interferon-alpha antibodies in a patient with chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: In a patient undergoing allogeneic BMT for chronic phase CML, de novo chronic GVHD developed within 80 days after transplantation. Eighteen months post-BMT, high serum levels of neutralizing interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) antibodies were detected, which persisted despite continuous immunosuppressive treatment. The antibodies were of oligoclonal or polyclonal origin, predominantly of the IgG1 type, and reacted broadly with various human IFN-alpha types, including the patients endogenous IFN-alpha, but failed to recognize natural IFN-beta and recombinant IFN-gamma. Pathogenesis and clinical impact of the IFN-alpha antibodies are unknown. Antibodies of cytokines are a novel class of autoantibodies that may develop after allogeneic BMT and interfere with cytokine homeostasis and immune regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine III, University of Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prümmer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bunjes
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiesneth
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Porzsolt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heimpel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000276:immunology*; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D016898:Interferon-alpha