Recent applications of cell therapies promise a new era in the treatment of rheumatologic diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cancer. Engineered cell therapies, foremost chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that are expressed in T cells, have proven efficacy in hematologic malignancies and indicate that intricate relationships between the therapeutic cells and their targets open promising therapeutic approaches for both autoimmune diseases and cancer. The remarkable success in the initial trials using CAR T cells in patients with autoimmune pathology encourages guarded optimism that cell therapies will provide the long-elusive clinical solution for chronic and debilitating immune pathologies. This promising overlap suggests that strategies effective in cancer immunology may offer novel insights and therapies for autoimmunity. Despite being early in this new endeavour built on strengthening necessary collaborations between rheumatologists, oncologists, and basic researchers, the growing attention surrounding this new branch of synthetic medicine raises considerable expectations.
The application of CAR T cells and other cell engineering approaches to autoimmunity and cancer raises hopes, urges caution, and stimulates creativity among researchers and front-line clinicians. The goal of this article collection is to enhance interdisciplinary communication and understanding between different disciplines intersecting in this exciting new branch of medicine. We hope that prospective authors will contribute their thoughts and data to help us cover the following: (a) construction of CAR or other engineered T cell receptors, (b) traditional and innovative CAR structural designs, (c) practical aspects of screening and manufacture of CAR therapies, (d) feasibility studies in a range of host cells (which encompass CD4/CD8 T cells, regulatory T cells, NK cells, and innate immune cells), (e) applications to the growing list of autoimmune conditions and cancer types, and (f) the effects and responses in the treated patients. We are particularly interested in the applications of cell therapies in pre-clinical model systems and original observations from clinical trials employing cell therapies in autoimmunity and cancer. We will consider manuscripts highlighting difficulties and opportunities in interdisciplinary and translational medicine, and invite opinions guiding the next set of goals for this new frontier in medicine.
We invite authors from diverse backgrounds and with deep commitment to research and applications of cell therapy in autoimmune, autoinflammatory diseases, and cancer to participate. Their informed views on the identification of practical obstacles are welcome, as are clear guidelines for moving to the next stage in this exciting new area of medicine. We hope the participating authors will share our excitement for expanding perspectives of cell therapies and cell engineering in autoimmune disorders and cancer. We look forward to hosting a lively discussion of goals, targets, and challenges confronting the next phase of cell engineering in the service of connective tissue diseases, other autoimmune manifestations, and cancer. We invite manuscripts presenting original research, opinions, case reports, clinical trial summaries, and review manuscripts. We hope this collection of articles will emphasize the growing applications of cell therapies in treating autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Note that topic editor Prof. Sonja Schrepfer is the Scientific Founder and Senior Vice President at Sana Biotechnology Inc.
Keywords:
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), Autoimmune diseases, cell engineering, systemic lupus erythematosus, clinical trials, T lymphocytes, Cancer immunology, Cancer therapy, Immuno-oncology
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.
Recent applications of cell therapies promise a new era in the treatment of rheumatologic diseases, autoimmune conditions, and cancer. Engineered cell therapies, foremost chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) that are expressed in T cells, have proven efficacy in hematologic malignancies and indicate that intricate relationships between the therapeutic cells and their targets open promising therapeutic approaches for both autoimmune diseases and cancer. The remarkable success in the initial trials using CAR T cells in patients with autoimmune pathology encourages guarded optimism that cell therapies will provide the long-elusive clinical solution for chronic and debilitating immune pathologies. This promising overlap suggests that strategies effective in cancer immunology may offer novel insights and therapies for autoimmunity. Despite being early in this new endeavour built on strengthening necessary collaborations between rheumatologists, oncologists, and basic researchers, the growing attention surrounding this new branch of synthetic medicine raises considerable expectations.
The application of CAR T cells and other cell engineering approaches to autoimmunity and cancer raises hopes, urges caution, and stimulates creativity among researchers and front-line clinicians. The goal of this article collection is to enhance interdisciplinary communication and understanding between different disciplines intersecting in this exciting new branch of medicine. We hope that prospective authors will contribute their thoughts and data to help us cover the following: (a) construction of CAR or other engineered T cell receptors, (b) traditional and innovative CAR structural designs, (c) practical aspects of screening and manufacture of CAR therapies, (d) feasibility studies in a range of host cells (which encompass CD4/CD8 T cells, regulatory T cells, NK cells, and innate immune cells), (e) applications to the growing list of autoimmune conditions and cancer types, and (f) the effects and responses in the treated patients. We are particularly interested in the applications of cell therapies in pre-clinical model systems and original observations from clinical trials employing cell therapies in autoimmunity and cancer. We will consider manuscripts highlighting difficulties and opportunities in interdisciplinary and translational medicine, and invite opinions guiding the next set of goals for this new frontier in medicine.
We invite authors from diverse backgrounds and with deep commitment to research and applications of cell therapy in autoimmune, autoinflammatory diseases, and cancer to participate. Their informed views on the identification of practical obstacles are welcome, as are clear guidelines for moving to the next stage in this exciting new area of medicine. We hope the participating authors will share our excitement for expanding perspectives of cell therapies and cell engineering in autoimmune disorders and cancer. We look forward to hosting a lively discussion of goals, targets, and challenges confronting the next phase of cell engineering in the service of connective tissue diseases, other autoimmune manifestations, and cancer. We invite manuscripts presenting original research, opinions, case reports, clinical trial summaries, and review manuscripts. We hope this collection of articles will emphasize the growing applications of cell therapies in treating autoimmune diseases and cancer.
Note that topic editor Prof. Sonja Schrepfer is the Scientific Founder and Senior Vice President at Sana Biotechnology Inc.
Keywords:
Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), Autoimmune diseases, cell engineering, systemic lupus erythematosus, clinical trials, T lymphocytes, Cancer immunology, Cancer therapy, Immuno-oncology
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.