Therapeutic anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies: from bench to bedside

Abstract

The induction of tolerance is a major goal of immunotherapy. Investigations over the last 20 years have shown that anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) effectively treat autoimmune disease in animal models and have also shown promise in clinical trials. Tolerance induction by anti-CD3 mAbs is related to the induction of Tregs that control pathogenic autoimmune responses. Here, we review preclinical and clinical studies in which intravenous or mucosal administration of anti-CD3 mAbs has been employed and provide an outlook on future developments to enhance the efficacy of this promising therapeutic approach.

Keywords: Tregs; Type 1 diabetes; autoimmune diseases; foralumab; immune tolerance; immunotherapy; monoclonal CD3 antibodies; otelixizumab; teplizumab; visilizumab.