Use of allokin-alpha in the treatment of chronic herpesvirus infection in adults


DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18565/epidem.2019.9.4.84-94

Rakitianskaya I.A., Riabova T.S., Kalashnikovа A.A.

1) City Outpatient Unit of Allergology, Immunology, and Clinical Transfusiology, City Polyclinic One Hundred and Twelve, Saint Petersburg, Russia; 2) S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy, Saint Petersburg, Russia; 3) A.M. Nikiforov All-Russian Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine, Russian Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Objective. To evaluate the efficiency of allokin-alpha therapy on the level of isolation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and herpes simplex virus type 6 (HHV-6) DNA copy numbers in saliva samples, on the time course of changes in the production of IFN-α and IFN-γ and on that of clinical complaints in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome in the presence of chronic EBV and HHV-6 infections.
Subjects and methods. A total of 53 patients (36 women and 17 men) with with chronic fatigue syndrome in the presence of chronic herpesvirus infection were examined; the patients’ their mean age was 34.51 ± 1.74 years. All the patients underwent determination of the amount of EBV and HHV-6 DNA in their saliva samples by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the blood levels of IFN-α and IFN-γ, and the spontaneous and induced production of these cytokines in the blood lymphocyte cultures. All the patients received allokin-alpha therapy with 9 subcutaneous injections of 1.0 mg every other day. The patients were divided into three groups: 1) 26 patients with chronic EBV infection; 2) 18 patients with EBV + HHV-6 co-infection; 3) 9 patients with HHV-6 infection.
Results. After allokin-alpha therapy, in Group 1, EBV DNA was PCR negative in 57.69% of patients; in Group 3, that was positive in all patients. In Group 2, EBV and HHV-6 DNA was found to be absent in 44.44 and 5.55% of patients, respectively. In all the groups, the serum and spontaneous production of IFN-α did not change significantly one month after the end of therapy. The level of induced IFN-α tended to decrease. IFN-γ production also tended to reduce in all the groups. After the end of therapy, the patients in all the groups showed a significant decline in the number of clinical complaints.
Conclusion. The efficiency of allokin-alpha therapy varies in patients with chronic herpesvirus infection and depends upon virus type. The greatest efficacy of the drug was found in patients with EBV infection.
Keywords: DNA copy numbers, herpesvirus type 6, Epstein–Barr virus, interferon-γ, interferon-α, allokin-alpha
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About the Autors

Prof. Irina A. Rakitianskaya, MD, Clinical Immunologist; Professor, Outpatient Unit of Allergology, Immunology, and Clinical Transfusiology, City Polyclinic One Hundred and Twelve, Saint Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: tat-akyla@inbox.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2524-4602
Tatiana S. Riabova, MD, Nephrologist; Associate Professor, Department of Nephrology and Efferent Therapy, S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy; Consulting Cardiologist, Outpatient Unit of Allergology, Immunology, and Clinical Transfusiology, City Polyclinic One Hundred and Twelve, Saint Petersburg, Russia; e-mail:tita74@ mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9543-9646
Anastasia A. Kalashnikova, Cand Biol. Sci., Senior Researcher, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, A.M. Nikiforov All-Russian Center of Emergency and Radiation Medicine, Russian Ministry for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Saint Petersburg, Russia; e-mail: petkova_nas@mail.ru; ORCID: https://orcid.org /0000-0002-5338-0866.


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