Abstract
While it was long held that T cells were the primary mediators of multiple sclerosis (MS) pathogenesis, the beneficial effects observed in response to treatment with Rituximab (RTX), a monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting CD20, shed light on a key contributor to MS that had been previously underappreciated: B cells. This has been reaffirmed by results from clinical trials testing the efficacy of subsequently developed B cell-depleting mAbs targeting CD20 as well as studies revisiting the effects of previous disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) on B cell subsets thought to modulate disease severity. In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding the complex roles of B cells in MS pathogenesis and current and potential future B cell-directed therapies.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 10-23 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Cellular Immunology |
Volume | 339 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2019 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology