Targeting B‐Cell‐Activating Factor and Its Receptor in Immune Thrombocytopenia and Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia
Current treatments for immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), rare autoimmune diseases in which autoreactive B cells play a major role, can lead to high response rates; however, for many patients these responses are not durable or maintained after treatment discontinuation. Binding of B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) to its receptor (BAFF-R) has been shown to lead to B-cell differentiation, proliferation, and survival, with BAFF levels shown to be elevated in patients with ITP and wAIHA. Targeting the BAFF/BAFF-R pathway could address unmet needs that remain for patients with ITP and wAIHA despite available treatments.
Authors
- Nichola Cooper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9845-8292)
- Karina Yazdanbakhsh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1968-0101)
- Wilma Barcellini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1428-9944)
- Matthieu Mahévas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9182-1434)
- Vickie McDonald (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4392-8223)
Institutions
- New York Blood Center (US)
- Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR)
- Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (IT)
- Imperial College London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- American Journal of Hematology
- Published
- 2026-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.70460
- Primary Topic
- Blood groups and transfusion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
- National Institute for Health and Care Research
- Imperial College London
- National Institutes of Health