Peptide-based immunotherapy in lupus: Where are we now?

Abstract

In autoimmune rheumatic diseases, immune hyperactivity and chronic inflammation associate with immune dysregulation and the breakdown of immune self-tolerance. A continued, unresolved imbalance between effector and regulatory immune responses further exacerbates inflammation that ultimately causes tissue and organ damage. Many treatment modalities have been developed to restore the immune tolerance and immmunoregulatory balance in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, including the use of peptide-based therapeutics or the use of nanoparticles-based nanotechnology. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art therapeutic use of peptide-based therapies in autoimmune rheumatic diseases, with a specific focus on lupus.

Keywords: chemokine; cytokine; immune tolerance; immunotherapy; lupus; peptide; regulatory T cells.

Figure 1

The role of peptide induced immune tolerance in SLE. A: In the autoimmune state, the CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells are activated, and Dendritic cells (DCs) become aggressive and create autoimmune activation and further inflammation in SLE. B: In the tolerance state, peptide-induced tolerization promotes the expansion of antigen-specific regulatory cells and further tolerizes dendritic cells (DCs). These tolerized dendritic cells induce deletion and anergy of cognate T cells and further modulate regulatory T cells in SLE. These peptide induced regulatory T cells (T_regs) which suppress the autoreactive/autoimmune responses in SLE.