Arthritis Research & Therapy is calling for submissions to our Collection on CAR T cells in autoimmunity.
Despite advances in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, there are many patients that do not respond to currently available therapies and even in those that do, long-term drug free remission is rare. Autoreactive B cells play a critical role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. The therapeutic efficacy of B-cell depleting monoclonal antibodies, such as rituximab, is limited by the persistence of autoreactive B cells in lymphatic organs and inflamed tissue. The adoptive transfer of T cells engineered to target tumour cells via chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has emerged as an effective treatment modality in haematological malignancies, while treatment with autologous CAR T cells directed against the CD19 antigen has been shown to induce a rapid and sustained depletion of circulating B cells, as well as complete clinical and serological remission of refractory systemic lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. Furthermore, a growing body of evidence from clinical and pre-clinical studies is revealing the potential for CAR T therapy in the treatment of chronic infections, fibrosis and other immune mediated diseases – highlighting the future potential of CAR T cell therapy for a wide range of non-cancerous pathologies.
This collection of articles aims to present the recent advances in CAR T cell therapy for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. The call is open for any paper (systematic or narrative reviews, original research articles, and unique clinical cases) within the reach of the overall theme.
