Immunogenicity of human interferon-beta-containing pharmaceuticals

Multiple sclerosis is a severe autoimmune disease with inflammatory component that continues to be resistant to treatment. One of the approaches retarding its progression is based on using nonspecific therapy with human interferon-beta (IFN-β)-containing pharmaceuticals. Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) against genetically engineered pharmaceuticals developed by the patient’s immune system, which reduce their therapeutic and biological activity, pose a serious problem. Cell lines sensitive to IFN-β activity also quantifying NAb level are applied because direct measurement of IFN-β antiviral activity is complicated. This study was aimed at standardization and validation of a reporter cell system for measuring antihuman IFN-β NAb titers, and evaluation data were obtained with samples from 33 patients with multiple sclerosis.