Disrupting B and T cell Collaboration in Autoimmune Disease: T cell engagers versus CAR T cell therapy? (PubMed, Clin Exp Immunol)
Historically, B and T cell (B-T cell) co-interaction was targeted through different pathways such as alemtuzumab, abatacept, and dapirolizumab with variable impact on B cell depletion (BCD), whereas the majority of patients with AID including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis and organ transplantation benefit from targeted BCD with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab, ocrelizumab or ofatumumab...In the treatment of cancer, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and T cell engagers (TCE) that recruit T cells to induce B cell cytotoxicity have delivered promising results for anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, the CD19 TCE blinatumomab and CD20 TCE such as mosunetuzumab, glofitamab or epcoritamab. Limited evidence suggests that anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapy may be effective in managing refractory AID whereas we await evaluation of TCE for use in non-oncological indications. Therefore, here, we discuss the potential mechanistic advantages of novel therapies that rely on T cells as effector cells to disrupt B-T cell collaboration toward overcoming rituximab-resistant AID.
