title: Autoantibodies before, during and after administration of recombinant interferon-alpha for chronic viral hepatitis.
abstract: This study was undertaken to investigate the presence of autoantibodies in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C, before, during and after interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy and to study their relation to dose and type of IFN-alpha and response to treatment. Fifty patients with chronic hepatitis were divided in two groups, a control-group of 21 patients (10 type B and 11 type C) who were followed for 6 months without treatment and an IFN-group consisting of 29 patients (8 type B and 21 type C) who received IFN therapy for 6 months. Serum samples were tested for a range of antibodies at the start of the study, during therapy and at the end of the 6 month period. Antibodies tested for included: antinuclear, smooth muscle, antimitochondrial, parietal cell and thyroid microsomal. Four (8%) of the total patient group had autoantibodies at the beginning of the study (two in each group). During the follow-up period no patient in the control group developed antibodies compared with 3 (11%) patients in the treatment group. Autoantibodies developed in patients treated with higher doses of IFN and were found in those patients who tended to show a poor response to IFN-therapy. Further studies are needed to establish the relationship between poor response to IFN-alpha and development of autoantibodies.
authors.affiliation: Disciplina de Gastroenterologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sette Junior
authors.forename: R X
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ferraz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D007370:Interferon Type I; D011994:Recombinant Proteins