B cell depletion in lgG4-related disease

Abstract

As IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) emerged and then began to come into sharper clinical focus during the first decade of the new century, those who have studied the disease have been privileged to appreciate many “Eureka” moments. One such moment was the observation of the substantial effect of B cell depletion on the clinical features and laboratory manifestations on IgG4-RD. Investigations of the use of this treatment strategy and studies of its mechanistic effects have led to important observations and are likely to yield important additional information about the nature of this disease.