Two recent articles by researchers in Uppsala, Sweden add to the growing body of knowledge on the role of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, or lupus). IFN-alpha, a natural virus-fighting protein, has potent effects on various immune system cells. In the September 2003 issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism and the September 15, 2003 issue of the Journal of Immunology, Lars Rönnblom, MD, PhD, of Uppsala University Hospital and his colleagues describe two key molecules involved in the production of IFN-alpha in lupus patients, which are potential targets for new lupus therapies. In their Arthritis & Rheumatism article, the researchers show that a laboratory-made antibody that specifically targets one of these molecules can block IFN-alpha production by blood cells from lupus patients.
Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) Investigator Mary Crow, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, NY, was invited to write a commentary in Arthritis & Rheumatism to accompany the article by Dr. Rönnblom’s team. She describes the growing experimental evidence that IFN-alpha plays a central role in the development of SLE and notes that Dr. Rönnblom and his colleague Dr. Gunnar Alm were among the first researchers to investigate clues pointing to the possible role of interferons in lupus. Elevated serum levels of interferon in patients with active lupus were first observed almost 25 years ago. Since then, Dr. Crow says, Drs. Rönnblom, Alm, and their colleagues “have been among the few investigators who have persevered in studying how IFN-alpha could be central to maintaining lupus activity and how its production might be initiated.” In the last two years, researchers including Dr. Crow and several other ALR investigators have gathered new evidence to support the importance of interferon in the development of lupus.
What it means for people with lupus: Mounting scientific evidence indicates that interferon-alpha plays a critical role in the development and persistence of lupus, and is an important target for therapy. The ALR has made a major commitment to research in this area through grants to Dr. Crow and three other investigators: Drs. Jacques Banchereau, Timothy Behrens, and Brian Kotzin. These researchers are studying the role of interferons in lupus in greater detail and working to develop potential therapies that block the disease-related effects of interferon or inhibit the production of interferon in people with lupus.
To read more on the latest in lupus research, click here to download the most recent Lupus Research Update.
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