Development of Antihuman IgG Antibodies and Hematologic Deficits but Not Clinical Abnormalities in C57BL/6 Mice after Repeated Administration of Human Intravenous Immunoglobulin

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IvIg) preparations consist of purified human immunoglobulins collected from large numbers of healthy persons and are used to treat autoimmune, immunodeficiency, and inflammatory disorders. Studying the effects of IvIg effects in experimental animal models might clarify its mechanisms of action in these disorders, but whether 'serum sickness' or other abnormalities occur after repeated IvIg administration to immunocompetent animals is unknown. In the current study, male C57BL/6 mice (8 to 10 wk old; n = 27) received IvIg (1 g/kg IP) weekly for 6 wk. They were observed for clinical abnormalities, and body weight, temperature, renal function, hematologic parameters, and serum antihuman IgG antibodies were measured before and during treatment. Postmortem evaluations were performed on kidney, spleen, liver, and heart. No clinical or histologic abnormalities were noted despite a transient increase in BUN. Mean antibody levels to human IgG on days 21 and 43 after IvIg administration were increased by 23-fold compared with pretreatment levels. 88% and 89% of the mice were antibody responders on those days. Unexpectedly, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and RBC, WBC, lymphocyte, and platelet counts decreased after IvIg administration. These findings suggest that although it does not produce serum sickness, repeated IvIg administration to immunocompetent mice induces a strong humoral immune response and hematologic deficits of unknown etiology. These factors could cause the effects of IvIg preparations in mouse models of human disease to differ from their effects in the human disorders.