Our RESETTM clinical trials with CABA-201 (investigational CD19-CAR T cell therapy) in lupus, myositis, systemic sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, and pemphigus vulgaris are now recruiting.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system becomes misdirected to the healthy cells and tissues of the body, causing inflammation and damage. Normally, the immune system is responsible for protecting the body against “foreign invaders,” such as bacteria and viruses. However, in autoimmune disease, the immune system incorrectly views healthy tissues as foreign, leading to damage and dysfunction of the affected organs or tissues.
There are dozens of autoimmune diseases that can affect many parts of the body, including the joints, skin, internal organs, and nervous system. Some examples include systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis. Treatment typically involves managing the symptoms and suppressing the immune system to prevent further damage.
B cells are essential components of the body’s immune system. They manufacture specialized proteins called antibodies that circulate in the blood and bind like a lock-and-key to the surfaces of bacteria and viruses, the foreign invaders responsible for causing disease. They also recruit and encourage other immune cells to respond to the foreign invaders and to secrete factors that increase inflammation.
In autoimmune diseases, B cells contribute to causing disease by initiating or continuing the self-directed immune response. In some cases, B cells develop receptors that mistakenly target healthy tissues and cells. Once activated, these B cells multiply and produce autoantibodies, or antibodies against self-proteins, that attack healthy cells. The disease-causing B cells may also engage other immune cell types in attacking healthy tissue. These B cells cause certain types of autoimmune diseases by perceiving healthy tissues as foreign and mounting an immune response.
There is currently no cure for autoimmune diseases. Current treatment options for autoimmune diseases typically involve generalized immune suppression through corticosteroids as well as immunosuppressant medications and biologics. All of these current methods impair or destroy healthy B cells and/or other immune cells as well as pathogenic ones, weakening the patient’s overall immune function, potentially putting them at risk for infection and impairing their response to vaccines. In general, these drugs require long-term administration and may have life-threatening side effects. The ideal therapy in autoimmune diseases with B cell involvement would cause elimination of disease-causing B cells with restoration of the normal immune system, enabling an “immune reset,” restoring the body’s immune system to its normal function of fighting foreign invaders, not healthy tissues.
