The Role of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy in Immune-Mediated Neurological Diseases.

Despite the use of 'high efficacy' disease-modifying therapies, disease activity and clinical progression of different immune-mediated neurological diseases continue for some patients, resulting in accumulating disability, deteriorating social and mental health, and high economic cost to patients and society. Although autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant is an effective treatment modality, it is an intensive chemotherapy-based therapy with a range of short- and long-term side-effects. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) has revolutionized the treatment of B-cell and other hematological malignancies, conferring long-term remission for otherwise refractory diseases.

Increased levels of immature and activated low density granulocytes and altered degradation of neutrophil extracellular traps in granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) is a small vessel vasculitis typically associated with release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by activated neutrophils. In this study, we further aimed to investigate the contributions of neutrophils and NETs to the complex disease pathogenesis. We characterized the phenotype of neutrophils and their capacity to induce NETs.

Blood biomarkers recommended for diagnosing and monitoring IgG4-related disease. Considerations from the ERN ReCONNET and collaborating partners.

Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a chronic, clinically heterogenous fibroinflammatory condition, characterised by an accumulation of IgG4 secreting plasma cells in affected tissues and associated with increased serum IgG4 concentrations. Despite a growing recognition of the disease among clinicians from different specialties worldwide, its indolent nature, lack of a single diagnostic test and ability to mimic other malignant, infective and inflammatory conditions, makes the diagnosis challenging. As treatment options evolve, biomarkers correlating with disease activity, predicting prognosis and response to treatment are deemed required.

Intestinal Microbiome in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation For Autoimmune Diseases: Considerations and Perspectives on Behalf of Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP) of the EBMT.

Over the past decades, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been evolving as specific treatment for patients with severe and refractory autoimmune diseases (ADs), where mechanistic studies have provided evidence for a profound immune renewal facilitating the observed beneficial responses. The intestinal microbiome plays an important role in host physiology including shaping the immune repertoire. The relationships between intestinal microbiota composition and outcomes after HSCT for hematologic diseases have been identified, particularly for predicting the mortality from infectious and non-infectious causes.

Dysregulated CD38 Expression on Peripheral Blood Immune Cell Subsets in SLE.

Given its uniformly high expression on plasma cells, CD38 has been considered as a therapeutic target in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Herein, we investigate the distribution of CD38 expression by peripheral blood leukocyte lineages to evaluate the potential therapeutic effect of CD38-targeting antibodies on these immune cell subsets and to delineate the use of CD38 as a biomarker in SLE. We analyzed the expression of CD38 on peripheral blood leukocyte subsets by flow and mass cytometry in two different cohorts, comprising a total of 56 SLE patients.