MINI REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1581323
This article is part of the Research TopicAutoantibodies and autoimmune neuromuscular disordersView all 7 articles
Emerging B and Plasma Cell-Targeting Immune Therapies in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies
Provisionally accepted- Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Autoantibodies play a crucial role in the diagnosis and clinical characterization of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM). These antibodies are categorized into myositis-specific autoantibodies (MSAs), which are unique to IIM, and myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAAs), which can be seen with other autoimmune diseases. Both plasmablasts and plasma cells contribute to the production of these autoantibodies. Current B cell-targeted therapies, such as rituximab, have shown promise in refractory IIM, although their limitations -particularly in targeting plasmablasts and plasma cells -highlight the need for alternative agents with greater efficacy. This review discusses the evolving landscape of B cell and plasma cell-targeted immunotherapies in IIM, including next-generation anti-CD20 antibodies, BAFF inhibition, anti-CD19 CAR-T cells, BCMA-targeted therapies, and anti-CD38 antibodies. Most studies on the use of these novel treatment strategies in IIM have reported positive outcomes, although the number of patients treated is small. While these therapies represent a paradigm shift, further randomized clinical trials are needed to identify optimal strategies for IIM management and establish long-term safety and efficacy.
Keywords: idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), B cell targeted therapies, plasma cell targeting agents, CAR T, Bispecific T cell engager (BiTE), Myositis
Received: 24 Feb 2025; Accepted: 02 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Groener and Paik. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Julie Paik, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.