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Published on: March 24, 2015
Acetaminophen modulates the transcriptional response to recombinant interferon-beta
Aaron Farnsworth1, Anathea S Flaman, Shiv S Prasad
1Centre for Vaccine Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Aaron_Farnsworth@hc-sc.gc.ca
Acetaminophen (APAP) co-administration with interferon-beta (IFN-beta) significantly alters the transcriptional response in mice. This combination impacts gene expression related to signal transduction, metabolism, and IFN-beta-induced genes, potentially affecting treatment efficacy.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacogenomics
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Recombinant interferon therapy can cause side effects like fever and pain.
- Acetaminophen (APAP) is commonly used for symptom management during interferon treatment.
- The impact of co-administering APAP with interferons on gene expression is largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the transcriptional changes induced by co-administering acetaminophen with interferon-beta.
- To determine if APAP modifies the gene expression profile typically seen with interferon-beta treatment.
Main Methods:
- Mice were treated with acetaminophen (APAP), interferon-beta (IFN-beta), or a combination (IFN-beta+APAP).
- Liver and serum samples were analyzed for differential gene expression using whole mouse genome microarrays.
- Gene expression data were analyzed using Gene Ontology term clustering and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis.
Main Results:
- Co-administration of APAP with IFN-beta significantly altered the hepatic cell transcription profile compared to IFN-beta alone.
- Observed changes included up-regulation of signal transduction and cell differentiation genes, and down-regulation of metabolism and NF-kappaB cascade genes.
- Expression of key IFN-induced genes (e.g., Ifit-3, Isg-15) was significantly decreased by the combined treatment.
Conclusions:
- Acetaminophen administration significantly modifies the transcriptional response to interferon-beta treatment.
- These findings suggest that acetaminophen has the potential to alter the efficacy of interferon-beta therapy.
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