CD4+ T-cell–directed antibody responses are maintained in patients with psoriasis receiving alefacept: results of a randomized study

National Psoriasis Foundation clinical consensus on psoriasis comorbidities and recommendations for screening

“…Two studies have compared the vaccine response of a neoantigen, phi-x-174 in patients on biologic therapy to control patients. 74,75 In the placebo control subjects, response to this antigen was similar to that expected in healthy individuals. This response, however, was diminished with CTLA-4Ig and efalizumab treatment, while alefacept treatment seemed to have no significant effect.…”

Kv1.3 channels are a therapeutic target for T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases

“…(Quinine blocks other channels, and its toxicity profile is consequently different from that of specific Kv1.3 inhibitors.) Second, Alefacept, an immunotherapeutic that targets T EM cells (15) like Kv1.3 inhibitors, does not increase the risk of infection in treated psoriasis patients (4), and Alefacept-treated patients generate normal CD4 ϩ -dependent Ab responses (e.g., increases in antitetanus toxoid titer after immunization) (40). These results suggest that suppression of T EM cells by Kv1.3 inhibitors should not increase susceptibility to infection and not compromise immune responses to vaccination.…”

Can We Repurpose FDA-Approved Alefacept to Diminish the HIV Reservoir?

“…Success of alefacept in clinical trials of psoriasis and an excellent safety profile, provides a rationale to repurpose alefacept to reduce the HIV reservoir by depleting CD2 hi CD4 + T cells (Figure 1). In addition, alefacept has several advantages as a tool for decreasing HIV reservoir; this biologic can be used transiently to facilitate significant reduction of the CD2 hi CD4 + T cell pool with no impairment of primary or secondary antibody responses to a neoantigen or memory responses to a recall antigen [76]. Moreover, single or multiple dosing regimens can be used safely as was done in psoriasis clinical trials [19,[77][78][79].…”

“…How activation of FcγRI/FcγRIII + accessory cells affect the physiology of HIV infected individual remains to be observed. Furthermore, preservation of primary or secondary antibody responses to either recall (tetanus toxoid) or a novel (ΦX174) antigen [76] indicates that immune response are intact and plausibly both APC and T cell function are not impaired due to alefacept treatment.…”