Summary
High-titered spontaneous interferon (IFN) antibodies were detected in a patient with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA), a benign mediastinal tumor, and recurrent cutaneous carcinomas. The circulating IFN antibodies reacted broadly with various human IFN-α subtypes (20–140×103 neutralizing units/ml serum) but not with IFN-β or IFN-γ, and they neutralized the antiviral activity of the patient's endogenous IFN-α. The IFN-αbinding activity was restricted to the IgG1 subclass in a nonmonoclonal manner. Whereas the PRCA repeatedly responded to immunosuppression with high-dose cyclosporin A (CSA) and CSA plus plasmapheresis, IFN antibody production continued during treatment with cyclophosphamide and CSA. Serological analysis revealed past infection with parvovirus B19 and persistent B19 IgM titers. Antibody-mediated impairment of the IFN-α system might have favored the development of both PRCA and the various cutaneous carcinomas in this patient.
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Prümmer, O., Frickhofen, N., Digel, W. et al. Spontaneous interferon-α antibodies in a patient with pure red cell aplasia and recurrent cutaneous carcinomas. Ann Hematol 62, 76–80 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01714905
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01714905