Is There a Future for Anti-CD38 Antibody Therapy in Systemic Autoimmune Diseases?

CD38 is a type II glycoprotein highly expressed on plasmablasts, short-lived and long-lived plasma cells, but weakly expressed on other lymphoid cells, myeloid cells and non-hematopoietic cells. This expression pattern makes CD38 an interesting target for a targeted therapy aiming to deplete antibody-producing plasma cells. We present data suggesting that anti-CD38 therapy may be effective for the prevention at the preclinical stage and for the treatment of established autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren's syndrome and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Given the high unmet need for efficacious disease-modifying treatment in these diseases, studies are warranted to determine if anti-CD38 antibody-based therapies may delay or prevent the disease progression of systemic autoimmune diseases.