Peptide-based immunotherapy of systemic lupus erythematosus

Current drug-based therapy for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are non-specific and often counterbalanced by adverse effects. Current research aims at developing specific treatments that target deleterious cells only and not the whole immune system. This strategy requires the identification of sequences derived from major lupus autoantigens, responsible for the activation of autoreactive B and T cells. This review summarizes the identification and characterization of peptides, which are able to modulate T cells ex vivo, and describes the promising results obtained after administration of some of these peptides in lupus mice. Although these therapeutic trials are encouraging, the precise mode of action of peptide-based immunotherapy is still elusive. Here, we discuss the possible mechanisms leading to T-cell tolerance induction and the feasibility of extending the success of peptide-based therapy from animal models to human.