Germinal-Centre and Extrafollicular B Cell Pathways in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

This 2026 Nature Reviews Rheumatology paper reframes SLE autoantibody production by contrasting the germinal-centre and extrafollicular B cell pathways — their distinct kinetics, affinity profiles, T cell dependence, and therapeutic vulnerabilities — showing that the inflammatory niche, not intrinsic autoreactivity, determines pathogenic B cell fate.

May 21, 2026 · 8 min

Cellular therapies for rheumatic disease

CD19 CAR-T cellular therapy delivers drug-free remission in 80–85% of refractory SLE patients in early-phase trials, with similar signals in IIM and SSc — the first credible attempt at true immunological reset in autoimmune rheumatic disease.

May 11, 2026 · 10 min