Influence of Monoclonal Antibodies Against HLA Class I and Class II Antigen on Interferon-γ and -α Induction

The effects of several monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against different epitopes of HLA class I and class II antigens on interferon (IFN)-γ and IFN-α production were studied. The results indicate that: (i) these MAbs have a marked inhibitory effect on the production of IFN-γ induced by alloantigens and microbial antigens; (ii) they influence only to a lesser extent staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB)- and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced IFN-γ production; (iii) such effects parallel inhibition of lymphoproliferation except for PHA-induced blastogenesis, which is not affected; (iv) on the other hand, these MAbs have no effect on the production of IFN-α induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or viruses.