Strategies for treating autoimmune disease with monoclonal antibodies.

There is no safe and reliable therapy for most serious autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Severe cases usually require treatment with corticosteroids or cytotoxic drugs or both, which frequently provide inadequate disease control and can cause serious complications. These therapies are not restricted in their effects to cells of the immune system, but rather have a broad range of toxic effects on cells throughout the body. The development of monoclonal antibodies has led to new therapeutic strategies through which treatment can be focused more directly on specific cells (and functions) of the immune system. These strategies have already produced promising results in animal models for several important human autoimmune diseases. We will know soon whether treatment with monoclonal antibodies will be effective in persons with autoimmune disease.