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Updated: Jun 12, 2026

An Adoptive Transfer Model of Rheumatoid Arthritis in Mice
Published on: June 6, 2025
TNF receptor 2 pathway: drug target for autoimmune diseases
Denise Faustman1, Miriam Davis
1Immunobiology Laboratory, Room 3602, Building 149, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 13th Street, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA. faustman@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
Abstract:
Although drug development has advanced for autoimmune diseases, many current therapies are hampered by adverse effects and the frequent destruction or inactivation of healthy cells in addition to pathological cells. Targeted autoimmune therapies capable of eradicating the rare autoreactive immune cells that are responsible for the attack on the body's own cells are yet to be identified. This Review presents a new emerging approach aimed at selectively destroying autoreactive immune cells by specific activation of tumour necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2), which is found on autoreactive and normal T lymphocytes, with the potential of avoiding or reducing the toxicity observed with existing therapies.
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