EC Microbiology

Cytokine imbalance is a defining feature of rheumatoid arthritis, where persistent immune activation sustains chronic synovial inflammation and systemic symptoms beyond articular involvement. Conventional therapies target broad inflammatory mediators but often lack precision in restoring immune homeostasis, leading either to insufficient response or overt suppression. This pilot study investigates whether low-dose administration of autologous cytokine fractions may induce targeted immune modulation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Nine subjects with confirmed diagnosis of active disease and laboratory profiles indicating cytokine dysregulation underwent peripheral blood collection to isolate plasma-derived cytokines via magnetic affinity extraction. The obtained extracts were processed to generate multicompound bioactive fractions enriched in regulatory cytokines, then administered intramuscularly according to a standardized protocol. Serum cytokine levels, including interleukin 1 alpha and interleukin 6 as representative markers of chronic inflammation, were assessed at baseline and after six months of treatment. A consistent trend toward cytokine normalization was observed across the cohort. Interleukin 1 alpha showed a notable reduction, particularly among male patients, while interleukin 6 demonstrated a more pronounced decrease in females, suggesting sex-related variability in responsiveness. Clinical improvement was reported in parallel, with reduction of morning stiffness, fatigue and joint pain in subjects previously unresponsive to standard care. No adverse reactions or paradoxical flares were documented. The overall pattern supports the hypothesis that autologous cytokine fractions may act not as pharmacological substitutes but as regulatory signals capable of guiding immune recalibration. Rather than suppressing inflammation indiscriminately, this approach appears to promote a physiological rebalancing of cytokine dynamics, potentially enhancing tolerogenic pathways while limiting pathogenic activation. Although preliminary and observational in nature, these findings introduce autologous cytokine therapy as a plausible biological strategy for immune modulation in rheumatoid arthritis and encourage further controlled investigations to define its integration with conventional treatments.

 Keywords: Cytokine; Inflammation; Immunomodulation; Cytokine Modulation; Biological Therapy; Autologous Therapy; Low-Dose Immunotherapy

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