Targeted Biologic Approaches to the Treatment of Systemic Vasculitis

Abstract

The introduction of biological agents in the treatment of systemic vasculitis offers the promise of targeted therapy with greater efficacy and fewer side effects than conventional treatments. In this paper, we review the rationale for biological strategies in vasculitis and discuss the results of clinical studies to date. The biotherapies discussed include immune-cell-depleting agents, both B- and T-cell targeted; costimulatory blockade; and cytokine blockade. Although most of these agents remain unproven until ongoing randomized clinical trials are complete, their introduction heralds a new era of vasculitis treatment and has provided novel insights into disease pathogenesis.

Cutting Edge Issues in Autoimmunity

“…There is also a discussion of the T-cell component to autoimmunity, including and especially T regulatory cells (120,121). Systemic lupus erythematosus continually attracts attention as well as its relationship to vasculitis (122)(123)(124)(125)(126)(127)(128). Finally, we note interesting data on the role of skewed X chromosomes in autoimmunity and including scleroderma, as well as a unique perspective of the ontogeny of autoimmunity (129)(130)(131).…”