title: Recombinant Interferon Alpha-2b is a High-Affinity Antigen for Type 1 Diabetes Autoantibodies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Type 1 diabetes results from T-cell-mediated destruction of the beta cells of the pancreas and is associated with several autoimmune phenomena. Many studies have suggested the involvement of interferon alpha (IFN α) in the development of type 1 diabetes, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, the binding of type 1 diabetes antibodies with recombinant interferon alpha-2b (hrIFN α-2b), their gene (cIFN α-2b gene) and commercially available interferon α-2b (IFN α-2b) were assessed. Furthermore, we also sought to use anti-hrIFN α-2b antibodies as a probe for the estimation of plasma IFN α in patients with type 1 diabetes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The binding specificity of antibodies was analyzed by direct binding, inhibition ELISA and quantitative precipitin titration in 45 patients with type 1 diabetes and 30 control subjects. Competition ELISA was also used to estimate INF α in the serum of patients with type 1 diabetes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Antibodies from type 1 diabetes sera, purified in a protein A-agarose matrix, exhibited greater recognition of hrIFN α-2b than IFN α-2b (p<0.05) and cIFN α-2b gene (p<0.001). The relative affinity of type 1 diabetes antibodies for the hrIFN α-2b, IFN α-2b and cIFN α-2b genes was found to be 1.34×10-7, 1.28×10-6and 1.13×10-6, respectively. The concentration of plasma INF α evaluated by induced antibodies was found to be significantly higher than in controls (p<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High binding of hrIFN α-2b with IgG from patients with type 1 diabetes might suggest involvement of hrIFN α-2b in type 1 diabetes, especially as an antigenic agent. Anti-hrIFN α-2b antibodies were shown to be good probes for estimation of plasma INF α in patients with type 1 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: wahidalikhan@rediffmail.com.
authors.forename: Wahid Ali
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Khan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000502:physiology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: antibodies; anticorps; diabète de type 1; dosage d'immunoabsorption par enzyme lié (ELISA); enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); interféron alpha–2b humain recombinant; recombinant interferon alpha 2b; type 1 diabetes