title: Rituximab's new therapeutic target: the podocyte actin cytoskeleton.
abstract: Therapeutic off-target activities are well recognized for small-molecule drugs. In contrast, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) traditionally are believed to act specifically and lack off-target therapeutic effects. In this issue of Science Translational Medicine, Fornoni et al. show therapeutic benefit, through an off-target-mediated mechanism, of the mAb drug rituximab in recurrent focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) after kidney transplantation. These data shed new light on FSGS pathogenesis and suggest new therapeutic interventions for proteinuric diseases.
authors.affiliation: Research Department, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. acc@gene.com
authors.forename: Andrew C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000378:metabolism; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005923:Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050199:Podocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000069283:Rituximab; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D000069283:Rituximab; C508196:SMPDL3B protein, human; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase