No increase of serum autoantibodies during therapy with recombinant human interferon-β(1a) in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis

Objectives - The present investigation was aimed at establishing whether interferon (IFN)-β would induce the synthesis of autoantibodies in patients affected by multiple sclerosis (MS). Materials and methods - The titres of different autoantibodies were measured in a group of 68 relapsing-remitting MS patients before and during treatment with human recombinant IFN-β(1a) (3 MIU or 9 MIU subcutaneously 3xa week). ANA, anti-thyroid, anticardiolipin serum autoantibodies were assayed in all cases: when patients were found positive to ANA>1: 40, they were also tested for anti-DNA and anti-ENA antibodies. Results - No increase was found in autoantibodies synthesis during 6 months of r-hIFNβ(1a) therapy, either at low or high dosages. The percentage of patients positive to different types of autoantibodies varied between 0 and 29%, which are values similar to those already reported in untreated MS patients. Conclusion - Our data indicate that the short-term use of IFN-β(1a) in MS is safe in terms of the induction of humoral autoimmune responses: however, further follow-up is needed to confirm these findings during long-term treatments.