Bispecific T cell engagers for treatment-refractory autoimmune connective tissue diseases - PubMed
3 days ago
- #Refractory treatment
- #Bispecific T cell engagers
- #Autoimmune diseases
- Bispecific T cell engagers (TCEs) like blinatumomab (CD19×CD3) and teclistamab (BCMA×CD3) were used in compassionate treatment for refractory autoimmune connective tissue diseases.
- Five patients with antisynthetase syndrome (ASyS) and five with systemic sclerosis (SSc) showed reduced target cells and autoantibody titers after TCE therapy.
- Blinatumomab improved myositis and stabilized interstitial lung disease (ILD) in ASyS patients, while teclistamab reduced skin fibrosis and resolved tendon friction rubs in SSc patients.
- Maintenance therapy with rituximab (RTX) prolonged disease control, even in RTX-unresponsive patients.
- Adverse events included cytokine release syndrome (CRS) up to grade 3, but no immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) occurred.
- Respiratory infections treated with antibiotics were reported in six patients.
- Blinatumomab and teclistamab may serve as rescue therapies for refractory ASyS and SSc.