CAR T-cell therapy induces remission in multiorgan IgG4-related disease with hepatobiliary involvement

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a fibroinflammatory disorder in which IgG4<sup>+</sup> B cells and T cells interact to drive chronic organ inflammation. Patients with multiorgan involvement may become refractory to standard therapy, resulting in progressive organ damage and risk of organ failure. Here, we report a patient with treatment-refractory multiorgan IgG4-RD treated with CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and describe the clinical and immunologic effects over more than 12 months of follow-up. A 60-year-old man with IgG4-RD involving the pancreas, hepatobiliary tract, and lungs, who was refractory to long-term immunosuppression, received autologous CD19-directed CAR T cells. Disease course was monitored longitudinally and multimodal immune profiling was performed on peripheral blood. CAR T cell therapy was well tolerated, with only grade 1 cytokine release syndrome, no neurotoxicity, and transient cytopenias without infections. Treatment induced B-cell aplasia lasting 6 months, while serum IgG4 levels normalized by month 8 and remained within the reference range thereafter. FAPI (fibroblast activation protein inhibitor) PET/CT demonstrated regression of fibroinflammatory activity, accompanied by improved lung function and quality of life. Immunosuppressive therapy was completely discontinued without disease flares for more than 12 months. B cell reconstitution consisted predominantly of naïve and transitional subsets. This was paralleled by a decline in T follicular helper cells and CD4<sup>+</sup> cytotoxic T cells and attenuation of fibro-inflammatory and B cell-mediated signaling networks on interactome analyses. In this treatment-refractory case of multiorgan IgG4-RD, CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy induced durable, treatment-free remission with normalization of serum IgG4 and improvement across multiple clinical endpoints. Multimodal immune profiling indicates that CAR T cells can reset the B cell compartment and dampen pathogenic T cell and stromal interactions, supporting prospective evaluation of CAR T cell therapy in IgG4-RD.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Hepatology
Published
2025-12-08
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhep.2025.11.027
Citations
2
Primary Topic
IgG4-Related and Inflammatory Diseases
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.34
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CAR T-cell therapy induces remission in multiorgan IgG4-related disease with hepatobiliary involvement

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2 citations
Journal of Hepatology
IgG4-Related and Inflammatory Diseases
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article

CAR T-cell therapy induces remission in multiorgan IgG4-related disease with hepatobiliary involvement

Martin Böttcher, Denise Walther, Dimitrios Mougiakakos, Dennis Löffler, Tobias Goetze, Martin Mikusko, Maciej Pech, Kristin Reiche, Carola Dröge, Jens Schreiber, Nhu‐Nguyen Do, Katrin Hippe, Christina Katharina Kuhn, Dominic Borie, Verena Keitel, Michael C. Kreißl, Ulrike Köhl
article en
2 citations

Abstract

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a fibroinflammatory disorder in which IgG4<sup>+</sup> B cells and T cells interact to drive chronic organ inflammation. Patients with multiorgan involvement may become refractory to standard therapy, resulting in progressive organ damage and risk of organ failure. Here, we report a patient with treatment-refractory multiorgan IgG4-RD treated with CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells and describe the clinical and immunologic effects over more than 12 months of follow-up. A 60-year-old man with IgG4-RD involving the pancreas, hepatobiliary tract, and lungs, who was refractory to long-term immunosuppression, received autologous CD19-directed CAR T cells. Disease course was monitored longitudinally and multimodal immune profiling was performed on peripheral blood. CAR T cell therapy was well tolerated, with only grade 1 cytokine release syndrome, no neurotoxicity, and transient cytopenias without infections. Treatment induced B-cell aplasia lasting 6 months, while serum IgG4 levels normalized by month 8 and remained within the reference range thereafter. FAPI (fibroblast activation protein inhibitor) PET/CT demonstrated regression of fibroinflammatory activity, accompanied by improved lung function and quality of life. Immunosuppressive therapy was completely discontinued without disease flares for more than 12 months. B cell reconstitution consisted predominantly of naïve and transitional subsets. This was paralleled by a decline in T follicular helper cells and CD4<sup>+</sup> cytotoxic T cells and attenuation of fibro-inflammatory and B cell-mediated signaling networks on interactome analyses. In this treatment-refractory case of multiorgan IgG4-RD, CD19-directed CAR T cell therapy induced durable, treatment-free remission with normalization of serum IgG4 and improvement across multiple clinical endpoints. Multimodal immune profiling indicates that CAR T cells can reset the B cell compartment and dampen pathogenic T cell and stromal interactions, supporting prospective evaluation of CAR T cell therapy in IgG4-RD.

Journal of HepatologyVol. 84(4)
Eureka Therapeutics (United States) (US), University Hospital Leipzig (DE), University Hospital Magdeburg (DE), Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (DE), Leipzig University (DE), Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg (DE)
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
IgG4-Related and Inflammatory Diseases
3.34
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