Immune Functions and Therapeutic Potential of B Lymphocytes in Autoimmune Disorders

Dear Colleagues,

Autoimmune disorders (AID) comprise over eighty diseases and affect millions of individuals worldwide. They can target virtually any tissue in an organism and lead to a multitude of symptoms and, in severe cases, to mortality. Their causes remain under investigation, and several mechanisms have been proposed. Disease management efforts face various challenges due to the incomplete understanding of their etiologies, the complexity of genetic susceptibility, the contribution of a number of environmental factors, the variable latency between exposure to the trigger(s) and clinical manifestations, and the array of disease phenotypes. Nevertheless, treatment options for AID have made significant progress, evolving from immunosuppressive mediations to the more selective targeting of a single receptor or a specific pathway, with fewer off-target effects.

AID are characterized by loss of immune tolerance to self-antigens. While several immune cell types are aberrantly activated in AID, the B cell lineage is essential for both initiating and propagating the disease process. As a result, the broad immunotherapeutic targeting of B cells has entered the clinical arena, including specific B cell depletion. However, current approaches eradicate not only self-reactive B cells but also B cell subsets that play a protective role in immune defense. Therefore, a better understanding of B cell deregulations in AID could lead to more optimized targeted therapeutics.

This Special Issue will consist of insightful articles that assist in gaining a greater understanding of the multiple roles of B lymphocytes in the initiation and progression of autoimmune reactions, as well as the novel therapeutic approaches designed to prevent and/or to treat AID. Both original research articles and review papers will be considered.

Dr. Moncef M. Zouali
Guest Editor

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• engineered immune cells
• autoimmune disease
• B lymphocyte
• animal models
• immune tolerance