In vitro elimination of autoreactive B cells from rheumatoid arthritis patients by universal chimeric antigen receptor T cells

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

Fecha de publicación: September 30, 2020

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-217844

Autores: Bo Zhang, Yan Wang, Yeshuang Yuan, Jiaqi Sun, Lulu Liu, Dan Huang, Jin Hu, Min Wang, Shengjie Li, Wei Song, Hua Chen, Demin Zhou, Xuan Zhang

Background: Autoreactive B cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and B cell-depleting therapies using an antibodies, such as rituximab, have been suggested to be effective in RA treatment. However, transient B cell depletion with rituximab is associated with significant safety challenges related to global suppression of the immune system and thus increases the risks of infection and cancer development. To address selective and persistent issues associated with RA therapy, we developed a customised therapeutic strategy employing universal antifluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells) combined with FITC-labelled antigenic peptide epitopes to eliminate autoreactive B cell subsets recognising these antigens in RA.