Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors: A New Therapeutic Target for the Treatment of SLE?

Abstract

Ana Lorenzo-Vizcaya,1 Serena Fasano,2 David A Isenberg3 1Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario De Ourense, Ourense, Spain; 2Rheumatology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Campania L. Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy; 3Centre for Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, University College London, London, UKCorrespondence: David A Isenberg Email [email protected]: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a complex pathogenesis, which presents a great variability in its presentation and can affect almost all organs and systems. Multiple therapeutic targets have been discovered recently, but there also have been failed attempts to treat SLE using biologic agents. Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase expressed in several types of cells of hematopoietic origin which participate in both innate and adaptive immunity. Ibrutinib, a BTK inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of several B cell malignancies, including some types of lymphoma and leukemia. As BTK is expressed on several immune cell types, the mechanism of action of BTK also suggests the use of BTK inhibitors in the treatment of autoimmune diseases. In this review, we will summarize what is known and what has been published so far about the treatment of mouse models of SLE and the human disease, using BTK inhibitors.Keywords: lupus, Bruton, tyrosine kinase, therapeutic targeting, ibrutinib, fenebrutinib

Keywords

• lupus
• bruton
• tyrosine kinase
• therapeutic targeting
• ibrutinib
• fenebrutinib