Evaluation of neuroimmunomodulatory activity of recombinant human interferon α.

Objective: Recombinant human interferon (rhIFN)-α is a potent immunoregulator having a wide range of therapeutic applications. In the present study, rhIFN-α was evaluated for its neuroimmunomodulatory activity.

Method: Dose-dependent gene expression of cytokines and chemokines in the brain of rhIFN-administered mice was studied using real-time SYBR green PCR.

Results: Statistically significant increase in expression levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IFN-γ were observed.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that rhIFN-α may be used at an optimized dose to cause appropriate neuromodulation of cytokine/chemokine secretion that can aid in the development of therapeutic approaches for many infectious diseases of the central nervous system for which therapies are lacking.