Rituximab治疗自身免疫性疾病进展

The Prospect of Rituximab Therapy for Autoimmune Disorders

B淋巴细胞在自身免疫疾病发病中扮演着重要角色。CD20在成熟的B细胞表面均高表达,并随着分化为浆细胞逐渐消失。Rituximab是抗人CD20嵌合单克隆抗体,可以快速去除外周血CD20阳性B淋巴细胞。多个临床实验研究了Rituximab治疗难治性ITP、SLE、RA等自身免疫性疾病的有效性。这些开标实验表明用Rituximab除去B细胞并联合运用免疫抑制剂治疗难治性自身免疫疾病不失为一种安全有效的方法。

B lymphocytes have been shown to play fundamental pathogenic roles in autoimmune disorders. CD20 is expressed at intermediate stages and is lost during terminal differentiation to the immunoglobulin producing plasma cells. Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against human CD20, Rituximab treatment results in rapid depletion of CD20 positive B cells in peripheral blood. Rituximab has been used to freat patients with in chincal stady refractory autoimmune thrombocytopenia, refractory SLE, resistant rheumatoid arthritis and so on in clinilal study. These open-label studys demonstrates that targeted B cell depletion therapy by Rituximab can be a safe and efficacious addition to therapy with standard immunosuppressive agents in patients with refractory autoimmune diseases involving B cells.