Scientists from UMC Utrecht and their international partners have discovered two new antibodies that may lead to safer treatments for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), lupus (SLE), and immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).
These antibodies specifically block a key immune receptor known as FcγRI, or CD64, without triggering harmful inflammation.
The findings, published in Nature Communications, represent a breakthrough in the search for ways to reduce damaging immune responses in people with a…
In healthy people, FcγRI plays a useful role by helping the immune system clear out harmful bacteria and viruses. It does this by binding to antibodies and starting a response that kills the invaders.
But in autoimmune diseases, the body mistakenly creates antibodies against its own cells. These antibodies form immune complexes that bind to FcγRI, keeping it constantly active. This leads to long-lasting inflammation that damages healthy tissue.
For decades, researchers tried to create antibodies that could block FcγRI directly. But this receptor binds very tightly to regular antibodies, which made it impossible to create a blocking antibody using older technology.
The team from UMC Utrecht overcame this challenge by using a new method that avoids using the part of the antibody that normally binds to FcγRI.
This approach helped them create two new antibodies, called C01 and C04. These are special because they don’t trigger the receptor like previous ones did. Instead, they quietly block it using only the Fab region (the part of the antibody that recognizes specific targets).
One of the antibodies, C01, binds exactly where normal antibodies would attach, meaning it directly prevents harmful immune complexes from activating FcγRI.
Tests showed that C01 and C04 bind even more strongly to FcγRI than human IgG antibodies. This allows them to push out the harmful complexes and block receptor activation by up to 90%. Importantly, they did not cause any immune system activation themselves, which is a major safety improvement.
In lab tests using cells from patients with ITP and rheumatoid arthritis, these antibodies successfully blocked immune complexes from binding to immune cells. In animal tests, the antibodies also protected platelets from being destroyed, which is a major problem in ITP.
The researchers say these antibodies could lead to new treatments that calm the immune system without weakening it completely.
They are now working to improve the antibodies further and make them ready for human testing. This includes making the antibodies more similar to human ones so they don’t cause side effects, and increasing their ability to block FcγRI.
The antibodies have already been patented, and the team is now looking for partners to help develop them into approved medicines. If successful, these antibodies could become a powerful new option for treating autoimmune diseases by stopping the harmful immune response while preserving the body’s natural defenses.
If you care about inflammation, please read studies about turmeric: nature’s golden answer to inflammation, and what to eat to reduce chronic Inflammation.
For more health information, please see recent studies about how a plant-based diet could help ease inflammation ,and Vitamin D deficiency linked to increased inflammation.
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