Outcomes of children born to mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus exposed to hydroxychloroquine or azathioprine.

OBJECTIVES: HCQ and AZA are used to control disease activity and reduce risk of flare during pregnancy in patients with SLE. The aim of this study was to determine the outcomes of children born to mothers with SLE exposed to HCQ or AZA during pregnancy and breast-feeding. METHODS: Women attending UK specialist lupus clinics with children ≤17 years old, born after SLE diagnosis, were recruited to this retrospective study. Data were collected using questionnaires and from clinical record review. Factors associated with the outcomes of low birth weight and childhood infection were determined using multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models. RESULTS: We analysed 284 live births of 199 mothers from 10 UK centres. The first pregnancies of 73.9% of mothers (147/199) were captured in the study; (60.4%) (150/248) and 31.1% (87/280) children were exposed to HCQ and AZA, respectively. There were no significant differences in the frequency of congenital malformations or intrauterine growth restriction between children exposed or not to HCQ or AZA. AZA use was increased in women with a history of hypertension or renal disease. Although AZA was associated with low birth weight in univariate models, there was no significant association in multivariable models. In adjusted models, exposure to AZA was associated with increased reports of childhood infection requiring hospital management [odds ratio 2.283 (1.003, 5.198), P = 0.049]. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant negative outcomes in children exposed to HCQ in pregnancy. AZA use was associated with increased reporting of childhood infection, which warrants further study.

Novel treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that is associated with the production of autoantibodies, and with considerable morbidity and mortality. There has been much interest in developing more specific therapies for this disease, which is currently managed with immunosuppressive drugs, predominantly corticosteroids, azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclophosphamide, in combination with hydroxychloroquine. Mycophenolate mofetil has been demonstrated to be as efficacious as cyclophosphamide in patients with lupus nephritis, and is being used increasingly in the clinic despite not being licensed for this indication. Novel methods of reducing autoantibody formation in SLE include the use of mAbs that modulate and/or deplete B-cells (anti-CD22 and anti-CD20 antibodies, respectively), or that interfere with the stimulatory effects of the soluble factor B-lymphocyte stimulator (anti-BLys antibodies). Alternative approaches include the use of atacicept (Merck Serono), a transmembrane activator and calcium modulator ligand interactor (TACI)-Ig fusion protein, which inhibits B-cell stimulation by binding to BLys and a profileration-inducing ligand (APRIL), or toleragens such as abetimus. Blocking costimulatory molecule interactions, such as the CD40-CD40 ligand interaction with mAbs and the CD28-B7 interaction with a soluble cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4)-IgG1 construct (abatacept), has also been attempted as a therapeutic strategy for SLE. The most promising strategy for a new drug for SLE is belimumab (Human Genome Sciences/GlaxoSmithKline), an anti-BLys antibody, as two phase III clinical trials with this drug recently met their primary endpoints. In this review, these novel approaches to the treatment of SLE, including the potential of targeting cytokine pathways involved in autoimmunity, are discussed.