A new method for the treatment of antibody-mediated diseases

Antibodies play an important role in many rheumatic diseases. They are secreted by plasma cells, which the DRFZ identified as a new therapeutic target. Today’s therapies eliminate all plasma cells: the ones causing the rheumatic disease and the ones protecting us from infections. The DRFZ and Charité have developed a worldwide unique technique to selectively kill the plasma cells whose antibodies cause rheumatic and other inflammatory diseases (“Affinity Matrix Technology”). This publication describes the first successful use of this technique in a mouse model to selectively kill plasma cells that produce a specific antibody. This is a fundamental breakthrough and the procedure can now be further developed for specific rheumatic diseases. – a process that will take some time.