Abstracts (complete list) - Wissenschaft Online

Christian Jacobi, Jürgen Roemisch, Stefan Meuer, Thomas Giese
Modulation of gene expression by IVIG in healthy donors and
multiple sclerosis patients
Intravenous immunoglobulin G (IVIG) has become an established first- and second-line
line treatment in a number of immune mediated diseases during recent years. IVIG is
now proposed to modulate a wide range of molecules (e.g. bacterial/viral antigens,
toxins, Fc receptors, complement, autoantibodies), to act on different cell types (e.g. B
cells, T cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, endothelial cells), and to modulate various
immunological pathways at both the humoral and cellular levels including inflammation,
antigen presentation, cell growth and apoptosis. Using a variety of specific assays many
distinct effects of IVIG have been demonstrated in vitro. To provide further insight into
the mechanisms involved in IVIG-dependent immunmodulation under physiological
conditions, we have established a human whole blood gene expression assay in vitro.
There, we analyzed the effect of IVIG on CD2-, CD3-, LPS- and PMA/Ionomycin
stimulated leukocytes in whole blood of 20 healthy donors, 15 untreated MS patients
and two MS patients during relapse. IVIG induces among others the expression and
release of Interferon-gamma, MCP1 and IP10. Interestingly, IVIG reduces the MCP1 and
IP10 expression and release upon LPS stimulation, whereas Interferon-gamma
expression is further enhanced. Since both chemokines are physiologically induced by
Interferon, this effect of IVIG is unanticipated and deserves further investigation for its
possible role in anti-inflammatory properties of IVIG. No significant differences in the
IVIG induced expression profile between healthy donors and MS patients could be
observed.