Interferon antibodies in patients with chronic HBV infection treated with recombinant interferon.

Porres JC, Carreño V, Ruiz M, Marrón JA, Bartolomé J.

Gastroenterology Department, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain.

In different trials, a total of 46 adults and 12 children suffering from chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and who were HBV-DNA- and HBeAg-positive were treated with recombinant interferon-alpha (rIFN alpha)-2A. The interferon was administered intramuscularly in different doses ranging from 1.5 MU to 20 MU/m2 of body surface, two or three times weekly during 4-6 months. Specific detection of anti-IFN antibodies by enzymoimmunoassay (EIA), radioimmunoassay (RIA) and biological assays during treatment and follow-up periods were performed. None of the children developed anti-IFN antibodies. During therapy, 12 adult patients (26%) were found to have anti-IFN antibodies. A total of five patients became HBV-DNA-negative during therapy, but in three cases a reactivation of viral replication occurred subsequently. In these three patients, the appearance of anti-IFN antibodies occurred prior to or at the same time as HBV-DNA loss. The other seven patients did not respond to therapy. In conclusion, the development of anti-IFN antibodies during rIFN alpha treatment of chronic hepatitis B may modify the response to therapy, especially if they appear before HBV-DNA negativization.

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