Impact of Immunomodulatory Treatment on Leukocyte Cytokine Production in Multiple Sclerosis Patients and Healthy Donors

Objectives: Treatment with interferon(IFN) beta, glatiramer acetate (GLAT) and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) alters the cytokine production in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. To date, it is not clear whether the effect on cytokines varies among these drugs. Therefore, we analyzed the effects of these drugs on the cytokine profiles of MS patients as well as healthy controls. Methods: The in vitro effects of IFN beta, GLAT and IVIG on leukocyte subsets producing the p40 subunit of interleukin 12 (IL12p40), IFN gamma, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin (IL) 10 were assessed in 21 MS patients and 11 healthy volunteers using flow cytometry. Results: In peripheral vein blood of healthy volunteers, IVIG reduced IL12p40-producing monocytes (p = 0.003) and IFN gamma in CD4+ lymphocytes (p = 0.003). IFN beta treatment increased the proportion of IFN gamma-producing CD4+ lymphocytes (p = 0.003) whereas GLAT reduced TNF production (p = 0.012). In MS patients, IVIG induced a suppression of leukocytes producing IL12p40 (p < 0.001) and IFN gamma (p = 0.001). IFN beta decreased monocytes producing IL12p40 (p < 0.001) and increased IL10 (p = 0.005). GLAT reduced IL12p40 (p < 0.001), IFN gamma (p = 0.001 in CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes) and TNF production of leukocytes (p < 0.001). In addition, the baseline cytokine patterns were inherently different between individual MS patients. Conclusions: IFN beta, GLAT and IVIG had different effects on cytokine patterns, which might point towards different mechanisms of action. Since the baseline cytokine patterns differed among MS patients, the evaluation of the cytokine pattern might serve as a surrogate marker before starting immunomodulatory treatments and might be helpful to tailor MS therapy effectively to the needs of each individual patient. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel