Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

Immune Reprogramming in Autoimmune Diseases

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics is pleased to welcome you to submit your research to the Article Collection "Immune Reprogramming in Autoimmune Diseases".

Autoimmune diseases arise when immune cells target auto-antigens, leading to chronic inflammation and tissue damage. The central players in many autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis are dysregulated T and B lymphocytes that break tolerance and mount pathogenic response to self-antigens. Genetic factors and chronic infectious diseases can predispose to the development of autoimmune conditions. While current immunomodulatory or immunosuppressive therapies have been shown to reduce disease severity, they often require long-term use and carry the significant risk of increased susceptibility to infection and reduced vaccine responsiveness. There is therefore, the need for precise, disease-modifying therapeutic strategies. Advances in genomics, immunology and bioengineering has enabled the emergence of strategies aimed at reprogramming the immune system and restoring normal functions by specifically targeting auto-reactive cells.

Autoimmune conditions are associated with debilitating multiple organ symptoms in hundreds of millions of infected individuals worldwide. Immune reprogramming through targeted elimination of pathogenic auto-reactive immune cells is an important advancement in the management of autoimmune diseases because of the promise of delivering curative treatment without the attendant side effects of the currently widely used immunosuppressive therapy. Despite this promise, significant challenges exist in identifying key auto-antigens and the specific immune targets that initiate and sustain autoimmune diseases. There is also the challenge of accurately targeting the pathogenic cell types while sparing normal healthy cell populations.

This Article Collection brings together leading researchers and clinicians to examine the latest advances in immune reprogramming for autoimmune diseases. It focuses on strategies for identifying key target antigens and pathogenic immune cells in various autoimmune conditions. It will also address the development and mechanism of action of innovative drug modalities, highlighting and discussing use cases for safer, more effective, and potentially curative immune reprogramming immunotherapeutics. Both review and original research articles are welcome for submission.

Keywords: Autoimmune diseases; Immune reprogramming; auto-reactive immune cells; Auto-antigens; Precision immunotherapy

Meet the Guest Advisors

Dr. Ernest Aguinam is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University where he applies organ-on-chip technology to study immune responses in various disease contexts. He holds a DVM from the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, and an MPhil and PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK. He is experienced in vaccine immunology, infectious and autoimmune diseases, 3D organ-on-chip microfluidic and organoid systems, and in vivo models for vaccine and therapeutics evaluation. He is dedicated to advancing translational immunology and therapeutics development for infectious and autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Chandrav De is a Senior Scientist in the Bioinspired Therapeutics and Diagnostics Platform at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the SUNY Upstate Medical University with honours followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at UNC Chapel Hill and the Department of Biological Sciences at UNC Charlotte. Dr. De’s research has spanned across multiple disciplines including pre-clinical translational research, autoimmune diseases, immunology, oncology and infectious diseases. His research has aided in the development of two FDA approved antiviral drugs and multiple drug candidates in successful clinical trials for oncology and autoimmune diseases.