Sustained immunological effects of Glatiramer acetate in patients with multiple sclerosis treated for over 6 years

The availability of a group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients at the University of Maryland, who had participated in the pivotal Copaxone® trial in the early 1990s, provided an opportunity to examine the long-term immunologic effects of Glatiramer acetate (GA) treatment in MS. Forty-eight GA-reactive T-cell lines (TCL) were generated from 10 MS patients who have been receiving GA treatment for 6–9 years. Proliferative responses, cytokine production, and cross-reactivity with myelin basic protein (MBP) and the MBP immunodominant peptide 83–99 were compared to responses obtained from 10 MS patients who were tested pretreatment and after a shorter period of treatment ranging from 1 to 10 months. The results indicate that while long-term treatment with GA results in a 2.9-fold decrease in the estimated precursor frequency of GA-reactive T-cells, the sustained response to GA remains Th2-biased and in part cross-reactive with MBP and MBP (83–99) as measured by proliferation and cytokine release assays. The results indicate that despite a drop in the precursor frequency of GA-reactive T-cells with long-term treatment, the sustained response remains predominantly Th2-biased and cross-reactive with MBP, which is consistent with the anti-inflammatory effects of the drug and bystander suppression.