title: Effects of interferon beta, cyclophosphamide and azathioprine on cytokine profile in patients with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: We assessed the in vitro effects of interferon beta-1b (IFNbeta-1b), cyclophosphamide (CY), and azathioprine (AZA) alone and of the combination of IFNbeta-1b with CY or AZA on the production of Th1 and Th2 cytokines in 10 patients with multiple sclerosis. Cytokine levels were determined at baseline and after stimulation with IFNbeta-1b, CY, and AZA alone or with the combination of IFNbeta-1b with CY or AZA. The combination of IFNbeta-1b with CY resulted in a statistically significant decrease in the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) (P=0.003) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) (P=0.03). An additive effect on the production of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) (P=0.2) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) (P=0.6), and a positive interaction on the production of interleukin-4 (IL-4) (P=0.08) were observed although the findings were not statistically significant. The combination of IFNbeta-1b with AZA resulted in a significant negative effect on the production of IL-2 (P=0.006), whereas TNF-alpha (P=0.02), IFN-gamma (P=0.03), IL-4 (P=0.2), and IL-10 (P=0.3) were not statistically impacted. Our data show that CY was able to improve the effects of IFNbeta-1b on the ratio of Th1/Th2 cytokines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy. totaro@cc.univaq.it
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Totaro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Passacantando
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parzanese
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rascente
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tonietti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carolei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000068576:Interferon beta-1b; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007376:Interleukin-2; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D000068576:Interferon beta-1b; D015847:Interleukin-4; D016899:Interferon-beta; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D001379:Azathioprine