Review Article Anti-cytokine autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases

Received October 5, 2012; Accepted October 30, 2012; Epub November 15, 2012; Published November 30, 2012Abstract: An overview of the current literature is showing that autoantibodies (AutoAbs) against cytokines are pro-duced in several pathological conditions, including autoimmune diseases, but can also be detected in healthy indi-viduals. In autoimmune diseases, these AutoAbs may also be prognostic markers, either negative (such as AutoAbs to IL-8 and IL-1α in rheumatoid arthritis) or positive (such as AutoAbs to IL-6 in systemic sclerosis and those to os-teopontin in rheumatoid arthritis). They may have neutralizing activity and influence the course of the physiological and pathological immune responses. High levels of AutoAbs against cytokines may even lead to immunodeficiency, such as those to IL-17 in autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type I or those to IFN-γ in mycobacterial infections. Their role in human therapy may be exploited not only through passive immunization but also through vaccination, which may improve the costs for long lasting treatments of autoimmune diseases. Detection and quantification of these AutoAbs can be profoundly influenced by the technique used and standardization of these methods is needed to increase the value of their analysis.Keywords: Cytokines, autoimmune diseases, autoantibodies, vaccines