In multiple sclerosis (MS), B cell-depleting therapy using monoclonal anti-CD20 Abs, including rituximab (RTX) and ocrelizumab, effectively reduces disease activity. Based on indirect evidence, it is generally believed that elimination of the Ag-presenting capabilities and Ag nonspecific immune functions of B cells underlie the therapeutic efficacy. However, a small subset of T lymphocytes (T c...

The combination of rituximab, a type I anti-CD20 mAb, with conventional chemotherapy has significantly improved the outcome of patients with B cell malignancies. Regardless of this success, many patients still relapse with therapy-resistant disease, highlighting the need for the development of mAbs with higher capacity to induce programmed cell death. The so-called type II anti-CD20 mAbs (e.g.,...

The antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) of natural killer (NK) cells is assumed to contribute to the clinical efficacy of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other hematopoietic malignancies of B cell origin. We sought to determine whether reactive oxygen species (ROS)-producing monocytes regulate the ADCC of NK cells against primary CLL cells usin...

Chemotherapy combinations with monoclonal antibodies are now the basis for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Rituximab, the most widely used anti-CD20 antibody in routine clinical practice, led not only to improvement of progression-free survival, but also to improvement of overall survival in previously untreated patients with good performance status in combination with fludarabine an...

Several studies suggest a link between autoimmunity and essential hypertension in humans. However, whether autoimmunity can drive the development of hypertension remains unclear. The autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus is characterized by autoantibody production, and the prevalence of hypertension is increased markedly in this patient population compared with normal healthy women. W...

Rituximab (chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody) is widely employed in the treatment of patients with B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This agent has activity in both indolent and aggressive disease, alone and in combination with chemotherapy. Unfortunately, however, many patients develop resistant disease. Ongoing efforts to improve outcomes include changes in dose and schedule, as well as...

Monoclonal antibodies are leading agents for therapeutic treatment of human diseases, but are limited in use by the paucity of clinically relevant models for validation. Sporadic canine tumours mimic the features of some human equivalents. Developing canine immunotherapeutics can be an approach for modeling human disease responses. Rituximab is a pioneering agent used to treat human hematologic...

PURPOSE Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) are an important immunotherapy for B-cell lymphoma, and provide evidence that the immune system may be harnessed as an effective lymphoma treatment approach. ALT-803 is a superagonist IL-15 mutant and IL-15Rα-Fc fusion complex that activates the IL-15 receptor constitutively expressed on natural killer (NK) cells. We hypothesized that ALT-803 would ...

BACKGROUND Fc gamma receptor polymorphisms were linked to outcome in follicular lymphoma patients treated with single-agent rituximab, an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. In particular, 158F/F genotype of Fc gamma receptor 3A and 131R/R genotype of Fc gamma receptor 2A correlated with worse outcome compared to high-affinity 158V/V and 131H/H, respectively. We examined this association in the cont...

Opsoclonus-myoclonus syndrome (OMS) may be associated with ANNA-1 (anti-Hu) autoantibodies. The standard treatment with IVIG, steroids, and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody may fail, and optimal therapy is unknown. A patient developed OMS with high-titer ANNA-1 following recovery from neuroblastoma. She failed standard therapy and had only transient response to rituximab. Treatment with the humani...