We recently reported that rabbit antithymocyte globulin was markedly inferior to horse antithymocyte globulin as a primary treatment for severe aplastic anemia. Here we expand on our findings in this unique cohort of patients. Rabbit antithymocyte globulin was detectable in plasma for longer periods than horse antithymocyte globulin; rabbit antithymocyte globulin in plasma retained functional capacity to bind to lymphocytes for up to 1 month, horse antithymocyte globulin for only about 2 weeks. In the first week after treatment there were much lower numbers of neutrophils in patients treated with rabbit antithymocyte globulin than in patients receiving horse antithymocyte globulin. Both antithymocyte globulins induced a "cytokine storm" in the first 2 days after administration. Compared with horse antithymocyte globulin, rabbit antithymocyte globulin was associated with higher levels of chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 4 during the first 3 weeks. Besides a much lower absolute number and a lower relative frequency of CD4(+) T cells, rabbit antithymocyte globulin induced higher frequencies of CD4(+)CD38(+), CD3(+)CD4(-)CD8(-) T cells, and B cells than did horse antithymocyte globulin. Serum sickness occurred around 2 weeks after infusion of both types of antithymocyte globulin. Human anti-antithymocyte globulin antibodies, especially of the IgM subtype, correlated with serum sickness, which appeared concurrently with clearance of antithymocyte globulin in blood and with the production of cytokines. In conclusion, rabbit and horse antithymocyte globulins have very different pharmacokinetics and effects on neutrophils, lymphocyte subsets, and cytokine release. These differences may be related to their efficacy in suppressing the immune system and restoring hematopoiesis in bone marrow failure. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00260689.
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