title: Rituximab: emerging treatment strategies of immune-mediated glomerular disease.
abstract: The use of monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of malignancy and autoimmune diseases has rapidly expanded in the last decade. Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody to the CD20 antigen on B cells, was first approved by the US FDA in 1997 to treat non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma. It is now used, however, for a variety of diseases in both on- and off-label uses. It was approved by the FDA for use in refractory rheumatoid arthritis in 2007, and in April 2011 it was approved for the treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitides (including granulomatosis with polyangiitis [Wegener's granulomatosis] and microscopic polyangiitis), based on the promising results of the RAVE trial. Within the field of nephrology, in addition to its use in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitides, it is has been used in the treatment of membranous nephropathy, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and lupus nephritis.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kattah
authors.forename: Fernando C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Fervenza
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015432:Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D015433:Glomerulonephritis, Membranous / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008181:Lupus Nephritis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D000069283:Rituximab; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000069283:Rituximab