ABSTRACT
Clinical and experimental evidence suggests that a wide spectrum of immune-mediated conditions could benefit from intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), including acute and chronic/relapsing diseases, autoimmune diseases mediated by pathogenic autoantibodies or by autoaggressive T cells and inflammatory disorders associated with, for example, an imbalance in cytokine networks1. IVIG consists of intact immunoglobulin G (IgG) molecules with a distribution of IgG subclasses that corresponds to that of normal human serum. Most preparations contain traces of IgA, and carry the risk of sensitization to IgA in long-term treatment of IgA-deficient individuals. The preparations contain intact Fc moieties which allow IVIG to interact with and signal through Fc receptors on Fc receptorexpressing cells, including phagocytes and B lymphocytes, and with a number of Fc-binding plasma proteins, e.g. components of the complement system2.
