Vaccine-style therapy for rheumatoid arthritis has a successful trial

Researchers working on a vaccine-style therapy that targets the underlying cause of rheumatoid arthritis report a successful phase 1 trial in Science Translational Medicine.
The new immunotherapy has been engineered for people carrying high-risk rheumatoid arthritis genes and specific anti-CCP antibodies.
It works by teaching the immune system to ignore a naturally occurring peptide that is incorrectly identified as a foreign body, which prevents the production of CCP antibodies that cause the inflammation that characterises rheumatoid arthritis.
In this trial, a personalised immunotherapy was prepared for each person by taking a blood sample and extracting a particular type of immune cell (dendritic cells) which were modified and injected back into the patient.
The technique was found to be safe, helped suppress the immune response and reduced inflammation.
One problem, however, is that it is expensive and time-consuming so “at this stage, the technique would not be ideal for widespread treatment or prevention of rheumatoid arthritis,” highlights Prof Ranjeny Thomas who is involved in the work. “However, the promising results of this trial lay the foundations for the development of a more cost-effective, clinically-practical vaccine technology that could deliver similar outcomes for patients.”
A spokeswoman from Arthritis Research UK praises the study for getting to the root cause of rheumatoid arthritis, when the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue, causing pain and disability.
“This treatment acts to re-educate the immune system so that it recognises healthy tissue, stopping the vicious cycle of joint inflammation and damage,” she says. “This is particularly exciting as it is not simply a way to treat symptoms but to actually stop rheumatoid arthritis in its tracks. However, more research is needed before this treatment is proven to be effective and safe.
“We are funding a similar study at the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Experimental Medicine at Newcastle University, where re-educated immune cells are injected into the knees of rheumatoid arthritis patients. We hope that in the future this will develop into an innovative and life-changing new therapy for people living with the daily pain of rheumatoid arthritis.”

Image credit: Ralph Arvesen