Against the "butterfly"
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune cells attack the tissues. Among the clinical manifestations, there are often characteristic rashes on the skin of the face and scalp (redness of the skin of the nose and cheekbones like a butterfly, disc-shaped foci on the skin), although these manifestations of the disease are by no means exhausted.
Jody Carnell and her colleagues from Horizon Therapeutics pharmaceutical company have developed a monoclonal antibody VIB7734, which reduces the severity of skin symptoms in people with SLE by targeting and suppressing plasmocytoid dendritic cells (pDC) in the blood and skin.
In two phase I clinical trials involving a total of 67 people with autoimmune diseases, including SLE, treatment with VIB7734 was as safe as placebo and significantly reduced pDC levels. The treatment also reduced the activity of the type 1 interferon group in the skin.
It is assumed that both pDC and type 1 interferons play a role in the progression of autoimmune diseases, including SLE, so the new drug may be an effective treatment option. But the results obtained should be confirmed in further clinical studies.
VIB7734 targets proteins on the surface of the pDC. After just one dose in non-human primates and patients with autoimmune diseases, the number of these cells is halved. Among patients with SLE treated with a high dose (150 mg) of VIB7734, 87.5% showed a clinically significant reduction in symptoms one month after treatment compared with 37.5% of patients treated with a lower dose (50 mg) and 28.6% of patients treated with placebo.
The researchers also noticed that VIB7734 seems to work best in patients with a high concentration of type 1 interferons circulating in the blood, which suggests that the initial concentration of type 1 interferon can predict the patient's response to treatment.
Article by J.L.Karnell et al. Depleting plasmacytoid dendritic cells reduces local type I interferon responses and disease activity in patients with cutaneous lupus is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on EurekAlert: Targeting plasmacytoid dendritic cells can reduce cutaneous lupus symptoms.