About this Research Topic
Despite vast advances in our knowledge of immune system activation and the pathogenesis of autoimmunity, the development of new therapies for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) has proven to be particularly challenging. Several medications have shown to be ineffective in large clinical trials despite solid preclinical research and extremely encouraging early clinical trials. Only two medications have gained FDA approval for the treatment of SLE and lupus nephritis (LN) in the last five decades. There are certainly many reasons for this paucity of novel therapeutics in SLE. For example, animal models that do not fully recapitulate human lupus, phenotypic heterogeneity, lack of reliable biomarkers and specifics in trial design such as use of high dose corticosteroids. However, the approval of both belimumab and voclosporin for the treatment of LN in the last year makes us optimistic that the development of new lupus therapeutics will accelerate over the next years.
The primary goal of this article collection is to highlight novel therapeutic approaches in SLE and LN. This will include not only the discovery of new pathways of immune activation but also the development of biomarkers and the study of the interaction of the immune system with target tissues.
This Research Topic welcomes the submission of Review and Original Research articles. The main themes that we would like to cover include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
• New immunologic pathways that can be specifically, reliably and safely targeted in SLE
• Novel approaches to biomarker development
• The interaction of the immune system with target tissues and its potential as a treatment target
• New clinical trial design strategies to address the heterogeneity of the disease
The primary goal of this article collection is to highlight novel therapeutic approaches in SLE and LN. This will include not only the discovery of new pathways of immune activation but also the development of biomarkers and the study of the interaction of the immune system with target tissues.
This Research Topic welcomes the submission of Review and Original Research articles. The main themes that we would like to cover include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
• New immunologic pathways that can be specifically, reliably and safely targeted in SLE
• Novel approaches to biomarker development
• The interaction of the immune system with target tissues and its potential as a treatment target
• New clinical trial design strategies to address the heterogeneity of the disease
Keywords: lupus nephritis, SLE, cytokine inhibitors, kinase inhibitors
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
