Allogeneic CD19-targeted CAR-T therapy in refractory systemic lupus erythematosus achieved durable remission

  • Dandan Wang
  • , Xiaobing Wang
  • , Binghe Tan
  • , Xin Wen
  • , Songying Ye
  • , Yingyi Wu
  • , Xuan Cao
  • , Xin Zhang
  • , Chun Wang
  • , Linyu Geng
  • , Huayong Zhang
  • , Xuebing Feng
  • , Biao Zheng
  • , Yanran He
  • , Mingyao Liu
  • , Xin Wu
  • , Bing Du*
  • , Lingyun Sun*
  • , Huji Xu*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Autoreactive B cells play a key role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study is to assess the safety of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells for patients with lupus. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05859997). Methods: In this study, 3 patients with refractory and severe SLE with multi-organ involvement were enrolled. Genetically engineered healthy-donor-derived, CD19-targeting CAR-T cells were infused intravenously at a dose of 1 million cells per kilogram of body weight. The safety indices, including the occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), cytokine release syndrome (CRS), and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), were evaluated. The proliferation of CAR+ T cells and the number of peripheral B cells were assessed. The clinical efficacy was also assessed based on the SELENA-SLEDAI, SLEDAI-2K, BILAG, clinical SLE responder index-4 (SRI-4), and DORIS remission index. Findings: Between August 2023 and October 2023, 3 patients with SLE were enrolled and completed a 12-month follow-up. No patient underwent GvHD, CRS, or ICANS, and no severe adverse events were recorded. CAR+ T cells expanded in vivo, peaking at day 14, and then declined. The percentage of B cells in lymphocytes and the absolute circulating B cell counts were profoundly decreased. Patient 1 withdrew from the study at month 1 due to unresolved and severe thrombocytopenia and the need for the addition of an immunosuppressive drug. SELENA-SLEDAI and SLEDAI-2K scores declined, and all the patients reached SRI-4 remission at the last visit. Conclusions: In patients with severe and refractory SLE, allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy showed profound safety and clinical efficacy for disease remission. Funding: 82320108010, 31821003, 81930043, 82330055, and U24A20380.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100749
JournalMed
Volume6
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Oct 2025

Keywords

  • CAR-T cell
  • Translation to patients
  • allogeneic
  • remission
  • safety
  • systemic lupus erythematosus

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