Sequential immunotherapy: towards cures for autoimmunity

Despite major progress in the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the past two decades, most therapies do not cure disease and can be associated with increased risk of infection through broad suppression of the immune system. However, advances in understanding the causes of autoimmune disease and clinical data from novel therapeutic modalities such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapies provide evidence that it may be possible to re-establish immune homeostasis and, potentially, prolong remission or even cure autoimmune diseases. Here, we propose a ‘sequential immunotherapy’ framework for immune system modulation to help achieve this ambitious goal. This framework encompasses three steps: controlling inflammation; resetting the immune system through elimination of pathogenic immune memory cells; and promoting and maintaining immune homeostasis via immune regulatory agents and tissue repair. We discuss existing drugs and those in development for each of the three steps. We also highlight the importance of causal human biology in identifying and prioritizing novel immunotherapeutic strategies as well as informing their application in specific patient subsets, enabling precision medicine approaches that have the potential to transform clinical care. Advances in understanding of the cause of autoimmune diseases and clinical data from novel therapeutic modalities such as chimeric antigen receptor T cells are providing evidence that it may be possible to re-establish immune homeostasis and, potentially, prolong remission or even cure autoimmune diseases. This article proposes a three-step ‘sequential immunotherapy’ framework for immune system modulation to help achieve this ambitious goal, and discusses existing drugs and those in development for each of the three steps.