IFNA2 and systemic lupus erythematosus: Another difference between IFN-α and IFN-β is that IFN-β seems to play an immunoregulatory role in SLE pathogenesis; a study showed that treating patients with multiple sclerosis, an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, with IFN-β reduces the incidence of clinical relapses and brain disease activity [102].