Pilot Study Shows Success of CAR-T Therapy for Lupus

In a study titled Anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy for refractory systemic lupus erythematosus, scientists report the results of a pilot study that investigates how CAR-T (chimeric antigen receptor T-cell) therapy can effectively target B cells involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). 

In their study, five patients received one dose of CAR-T cell therapy. All five patients reached remission in three months and did not need any other medication for SLE at 12 months.

The therapy works like this:

1. T cells are extracted from the patient.
2. These T cells are modified to express receptor proteins that bind to CD19 on B cells involved in SLE.
3. The T cells are reintroduced into patients.
4. Once in the patient, these T cells bind CD19 on the B cells and kill them.

After treatment, all five patients did not have autoantibodies against double stranded DNA, one of the defining characteristics of SLE, and did not have any other SLE-associated antibodies. There were no or mild adverse reactions to CAR-T treatment.

The success of this pilot study could spur the interest in using CAR-T cell therapy to treat other autoimmune conditions, like multiple sclerosis, where B cells play a role.

Citation:

Mackensen, A., Müller, et al. (2022). Anti-cd19 car T cell therapy for refractory systemic lupus erythematosus. Nature Medicine, 28(10), 2124–2132. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02017-5