Anticytokine Therapy, Especially Anti-Interferon-γ, as a Pathogenetic Treatment in TH-1 Autoimmune Diseases

: We pioneered anticytokine therapy (ACT) in 1974 and 1989, proposing to remove interferon (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α together with IFNs to treat various autoimmune diseases, including AIDS. This hypothesis was confirmed in different laboratories and opened a new line to produce and test different anticytokines. We have had good, sometimes striking results treating various Th1‐mediated autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory skin diseases, using anti‐IFN‐γ and sometimes anti‐TNF‐α. Anti‐IFN‐γ may be a universal treatment for these conditions. Because TNF‐α inhibitors, now successfully used in certain autoimmune disorders, have many severe side effects, there are opportunities for the development of other ACT and TNF‐α antagonists with fewer side effects.