title: B-cell directed therapies in antiphospholipid antibody syndrome--new directions based on murine and human data.
abstract: The increased awareness of the role of humoral immunophysiology in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) has aroused interest in B cells as therapeutic targets in this disease. This paper reviews the literature on B cell directed therapies in human and experimental APS. The clinical data is limited to B cell depletion with rituximab and comprises case reports and case series. Murine studies include use of modulators of B cell function such as belimumab and abatacept. In both human and murine studies, B cell directed therapies appeared to have clinical and serologic beneficial effects including a decrease in the antiphospholipid antibody titers after treatment. Randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to determine whether B cell depletors and/or B cell modulators can be effective agents for treating patients with APS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. skhattri@montefiore.org
authors.forename: Saakshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khattri
authors.forename: Gisele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zandman-Goddard
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Peeva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016736:Antiphospholipid Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D053482:beta 2-Glycoprotein I / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D053482:beta 2-Glycoprotein I