Novel opportunities for therapeutic targeting in systemic autoimmune diseases

Systemic autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, continue to cause significant morbidity in affected persons. In the past few years, significant progress was made in understanding their pathogenesis and the underlying molecular mechanisms. As a result, a number of new exciting therapeutic options have become available, and novel therapeutic targets have emerged, including B-cell depletion therapies, B cell-activating factor of tumor necrosis factor family (BAFF) antagonists, and FcgammaRIIB receptor antagonists. Also promising is the current interest centered on the development of inhibition of signal transduction pathways, such as pharmacological inhibitors that act at various levels of signal transduction pathways.