Treatment of a patient with severe systemic sclerosis (SSc) using CD19-targeted CAR T cells

Several lines of evidence suggest a role of B cells in severe systemic sclerosis (SSc) pathophysiology: elevated levels of B- cell stimulating factors, disturbed B- cell homeostasis with expansion of naïve and decrease of memory B cells, 1 and anti-fibrotic effects of B- cell depletion in murine fibrosis models. First randomised controlled trials showed promising efficacy of the CD20- targeting antibody rituximab (RTX) 2 3 ; however, therapeutic efficacy of RTX in SSc remains controversial: while one trial demonstrated significant skin improvement, 2 RTX slowed forced vital capacity (FVC) decline in another study

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