Biologic and Gene Therapy of Autoimmune Disease

The clinical management of autoimmune diseases has proven to be extremely difficult. Current therapies focus on trying to alleviate symptoms, but fail to correct the fundamental immune defects that lead to pathology. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to understand much of the biology of antigen presentation, lymphocyte activation and the effects of cytokines. The articles in this book provide an up-to-date review of current innovative therapies using both biologic and gene therapy for the treatment of selected autoimmune diseases. Therapeutical approaches discussed include oral tolerance, the use of anti-CD4 monoclonal antibodies, IL-10 and anti-TNFa antibodies, DNA vaccination, and gene therapy applied to organ-specific autoimmune disease. Although some of these techniques are still in their infancy, their potential efficacy has been demonstrated in several animal models of autoimmune disease, holding great promise for the future development of treatments. Written by recognized experts in the field, the chapters in this book illustrate the concept of technology transfer from bench to bedside and provide a valuable update for clinicians and scientists in clinical immunology.