IFNA1 and autoimmune disease: Patients treated with IFN-α occasionally develop antinuclear antibodies (ANAs), anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies (anti-dsDNAs) and autoimmune disorders [1,14-17] similar to those characteristic of SLE, but the mechanism by which IFN-α expression is associated with the generation of autoantibodies in vivo requires clarification [18].