Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1979 Jul 5;301(1):5-8.
doi: 10.1056/NEJM197907053010102.

Immune interferon in the circulation of patients with autoimmune disease

J J Hooks, H M Moutsopoulos, S A Geis, N I Stahl, J L Decker, A L Notkins

Immune interferon in the circulation of patients with autoimmune disease

J J Hooks et al. N Engl J Med. .

Abstract

The observation that type II, or immune, interferon could be produced by peripheral-blood leukocytes in vitro on an immune-specific basis suggested that it also might be produced in vivo in various autoimmune disorders. We found immune interferon in the serums of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma and Sjögren's syndrome. Among 28 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 71 per cent of those with active and 21 per cent of those with inactive disease showed interferon in their serums. Serial serum samples showed a good correlation between interferon titers and disease activity. Moreover, interferon titers correlated positively with antibodies to DNA and negatively with serum levels of the third component of complement. It is possible that the production of interferon may contribute to immunologic aberrations in auto-immune diseases and also protect the already compromised host from viral infections.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

LinkOut - more resources