Ingested interferon alpha induces Mx mRNA

We have demonstrated that ingested murine interferon alpha (IFN-alpha) supp ressed clinical relapse in chronic relapsing experimental autoimmune enceph alomyelitis (CR-EAE), decreased inflammation and suppressed the adoptive tr ansfer of EAE, and is a biological response modifier in patients with multi ple sclerosis. We examined the relative levels of the Ms mRNA signal using semiquantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis o n splenocytes from mice and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from man aft er IFN-alpha ingestion. Both mice and man demonstrated inducible levels of Mx mRNA after ingesting IFN-alpha, Murine spleen T cells and CD8(+) T cells also demonstrated upregulation of Mx mRNA., Murine whole splenocytes demon strated upregulation of Mx mRNA after IFN-alpha ingestion of 10 and 100 U, but not after 0, 1000, 5000 U. Ingested IFN-alpha acts via established path ways of type 1 IFN signalling. (C) 1999 Academic Press.