Immunogenicity of interferon-alpha 2 in therapy: structural and physiological aspects.

Recombinant human interferon (rIFN)-alpha 2 has been approved for therapeutic application in a range of human oncological and viral diseases. However, some patients can develop strictly specific antibody response to rIFN-alpha 2, which may diminish its therapeutic potential. Such humoral response appears to be quite complex and obviously depends on multiple parameters. Our review is aimed primarily to factors associated with structural modifications of rIFN-alpha 2 that we consider crucial for formation of therapy-induced antibodies. These factors are either related to inherent conformational differences between three IFN-alpha 2 subvariants or to immunogenically active contaminating derivatives resulting from production, purification and storage of this recombinant protein. In addition, the role of treatment regimen and physiological variables modulating the immune response to rIFN-alpha 2 in the challenged organism are mentioned.