Immunomodulating effects of intravenous immunoglobulin in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy is increasingly used for its immunomodulating properties in a wide range of pathological conditions including autoimmune diseases, systemic inflammatory diseases and allotransplantation. Intravenous immunoglobulins are obtained from a pool of several thousand healthy blood donors. They are composed of intact IgG with a distribution of subclasses corresponding to that of normal serum and a half life of three weeks. IVIg represent a wide spectrum of natural and induced antibody activities which are present in normal human serum, including antibodies directed against external antigens, autoantibodies and antiidiotypes.' This review will focus on the mechanisms by which infusion of normal human polyspecific IgG may be beneficial in patients with autoimmune disorders.