Suppression of infliximab antibody levels by azathioprine in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Pharmazie. 2017 Feb 1;72(2):95-97. doi: 10.1691/ph.2017.6791.

Abstract

In rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, the concomitant use of methotrexate has been shown to reduce the incidence of antibodies to infliximab (ATI), on the other hand, it is unclear whether azathioprine can reduce ATI production. We enrolled a total of 10 Japanese adult patients with RA who were treated with infliximab concomitantly with methotrexate or azathioprine. Serum concentrations of infliximab and ATI of these patients were measured. The mean serum infliximab concentrations was 1.6±1.3 μg/ml in patients with methotrexate and 1.0±0.5 μg/ml in patients with azathioprine. Serum ATI concentrations were below the limit of quantitation in 4 of 5 patients in each group. The results from the present study suggest that azathioprine suppresses ATI production.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antibodies / blood
  • Antibodies / immunology
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / drug therapy*
  • Azathioprine / administration & dosage
  • Azathioprine / pharmacology*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Humans
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / administration & dosage
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / pharmacology
  • Infliximab / administration & dosage
  • Infliximab / immunology*
  • Methotrexate / administration & dosage
  • Methotrexate / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Infliximab
  • Azathioprine
  • Methotrexate