This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on ISI (5)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Drug Therapy, Other  • Immunologic Disorders  • Multiple Sclerosis/ Demyelinating Disease  • Drug Therapy  • Alert me on articles by topic

Kailash Chadha, PhD; Bianca Weinstock-Guttman, MD; Robert Zivadinov, MD, PhD; Kavitha Bhasi, MS; Jason Muhitch, BS; Joan Feichter, RN; Miriam Tamaño-Blanco, MS; Nadir Abdelrahman, MD; Julian Ambrus, Sr, MD, PhD; Frederick Munschauer, MD; Murali Ramanathan, PhD

Arch Neurol. 2006;63:1579-1584.

Background  Interferon inhibitory activity (IIA) is a logical candidate for explaining neutralizing antibody–negative partial responsiveness to interferon beta in multiple sclerosis (MS), but its role has not been evaluated.

Objective  To investigate the role of IIA and soluble interferon-/ receptor (sIFNR) in determining response of patients with MS to interferon beta therapy.

Design  Parallel-group, open-label study.

Setting  Baird Multiple Sclerosis Center, Buffalo, NY.

Patients  Blood was obtained before and 24 hours after injection of interferon beta-1a from 38 anti–interferon beta neutralizing antibody–negative patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 16 untreated healthy controls. On the basis of clinical parameters of response to interferon beta therapy, the patients were divided into stable or good-responder (n = 20) and active or partial-responder (n = 18) groups.

Main Outcome Measures  Quantitative analyses of magnetic resonance imaging were obtained; the IIA and sIFNR levels were measured using bioassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.

Results  The IIA and sIFNR levels were elevated in MS patients compared with controls (P<.001). The IIA levels were higher in active or partial responders compared with stable or good responders (P<.001); the sIFNR levels were not different between groups. The Extended Disability Status Score and T2 lesion volumes were higher in the active or partial-responder group compared with the stable or good-responder group. Interferon beta-1a did not have short-term effects on the IIA and sIFNR levels. In univariate general linear model and stepwise regression analyses, IIA levels were associated with T2 lesion volume.

Conclusion  The levels of IIA are associated with increased MS disease activity and with responsiveness to interferon beta therapy in anti–interferon beta neutralizing antibody–negative MS patients.

Author Affiliations: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Dr Chadha and Mr Muhitch), Jacobs Neurological Institute, Buffalo General Hospital (Drs Weinstock-Guttman, Zivadinov, Abdelrahman, Munschauer, and Ramanathan and Ms Feichter), and Departments of Medicine (Dr Ambrus) and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Mss Bhasi and Tamaño-Blanco and Dr Ramanathan), State University of New York at Buffalo.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Gene expression analysis of interferon-{beta} treatment in multiple sclerosis
Sellebjerg et al.
Mult Scler 2008;14:615-621.
ABSTRACT  

Loss of blood-brain barrier integrity in the spinal cord is common to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in knockout mouse models
Fabis et al.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007;104:5656-5661.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT