After receiving genetically modified immune cells, five adults with lupus observed, in three months, a disappearance of the symptoms of this autoimmune disease.
- In mainland France, approximately 41 people out of 100,000 suffer from systemic lupus erythematosus.
- This disease occurs in women in 90% of cases and most often begins between puberty and menopause with a peak frequency between 30 and 39 years.
- “This is the first time that one treatment has eliminated lupus symptoms in everyone treated in a 100-day study,” the authors said.
To date, there is no cure for lupus. Existing treatments can prevent and treat flare-ups and possible complications. However, these are not without effect in most people suffering from this chronic autoimmune disease.
Cell therapy targets CD19 receptor to fight lupus
Recently, researchers from the University of Nuremberg in Germany decided to carry out work to test the effectiveness of a cell therapy, called “Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cells”. Used to treat certain types of cancer, this therapy consists of collecting the patient’s T lymphocytes (ie cells essential to the adaptive immune response) and modifying them so that they attack new targets once they are reinjected into the organism. In the case of lupus, therapy targets the CD19 receptor, a protein found on the B cells that cause the condition.
To carry out their study published in the journal NatureMedicine, the scientists recruited five adults, with an average age of 22, who had severe lupus affecting several organs, such as the kidneys, heart, lungs and joints. The patients used standard treatments, but these did not prove effective in overcoming the pathology. As part of the research, participants received CAR-T cell therapy.
Lupus: remission of organ damage
According to the results, approximately three months after treatment, patients observed an improvement in their symptoms, including a remission of organ damage and the disappearance of autoantibodies linked to the disease. “Drug-free remission was maintained during longer follow-up (up to 18 months for the first treated patient) after administration of the genetically modified T cells and even after the reappearance of B cells”, can we read in the searches.
The team also found that the side effects of this cell therapy were mild. “The treatment was well tolerated with only mild cytokine release syndrome,” the scientists said. Now, they intend to determine if the immune system has really undergone a “deep reset” and go “to act” normally for the next few years. “Longer follow-up of patients is important to check if they have long-term remission and if they are ultimately cured of lupus”said Georg Schett, author of the study, in a statement.
