Antibody-mediated diseases affect more than 10% of the human population. For most, no cure is available, particularly when the pathogenic antibodies are secreted by long-lived plasma cells resistant to conventional immunosuppressive therapies. Current therapeutic approaches target not only the plasma cells that secrete pathogenic antibodies, but also those providing protective antibodies. Here, in a murine model bearing long-lived plasma cells secreting anti-OVA and -chicken gamma globulin (CGG) antibodies, we describe the first-time use of an antigen-antibody (OVA/anti-CD138 antibody) conjugate for in vivo labeling and selective ablation of plasma cells that secrete antibodies specific for the antigen OVA. The selective depletion also led to a stable reduction of the corresponding serum anti-OVA antibody levels. In contrast, CGG-specific plasma cells and circulating anti-CGG antibody levels remained unchanged. The method described here should enable the development of unique causative treatment strategies for established antibody-mediated diseases sparing humoral immunity.
Keywords: anti-ovalbumin antibody; antibody-mediated disease; ovalbumin-anti-CD138 antibody conjugate; proof-of-concept study; therapeutic plasma cell targeting.
© 2019 The Authors. European Journal of Immunology published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.