Predicting Hemagglutinin MHC-II Ligand Analogues in Anti-TNFα Biologics: Implications for Immunogenicity of Pharmaceutical Proteins.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent of overlapping immunogenic peptides between three pharmaceutical biologics and influenza viruses. Clinical studies have shown that subsets of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develop anti-drug antibodies towards anti-TNFα biologics. We postulate that common infectious pathogens, including influenza viruses, may sensitize RA patients toward recombinant proteins. We hypothesize that embedded within infliximab (IFX), adalimumab (ADA), and etanercept (ETN) are ligands of class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC-II) that mimic T cell epitopes derived from influenza hemagglutinin (HA). The rationale is that repeated administration of the biologics would reactivate HA-primed CD4 T cells, stimulating B cells to produce cross-reactiv

SUBMITTER: Andrick BJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4536234 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature