Incidence of Autoantibodies Against Type I and Type II Interferons in a Cohort of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients in Slovakia

Autoantibodies against interferon (IFN) can be found in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, detailed information about the occurrence of type-specific antihuman IFN antibodies is not available. In this study, we investigated the incidence of autoantibodies specifically recognizing various type I IFNs (α1, α2, β, ω) and type II IFN (γ). Sera from 100 SLE patients were screened for the presence of IFN-binding antibodies by ELISA, using various types of recombinant IFNs as antigen. On the whole, autoantibodies against type I or type II or both IFNs were detected in 45% (45 of 100) of the serum samples investigated. More than half (56%) of the positive samples (25 of 45) contained antibodies specific only for type I IFNs, and 36% of positive sera (16 of 45) had autoantibodies only against type II IFN. Antibodies against both type I and type II IFNs were detected in 8% (4 of 45) of the positive samples. Among autoantibodies to type I IFNs, the most abundant were those against the type IF...