The induction and maintenance of immune tolerance represent major therapeutic goals in autoimmunity. Current strategies for controlling autoimmune disorders are based on the administration of immunosuppressive drugs resulting in severe infections or patient relapse following drug withdrawal. More targeted approaches are therefore needed in this context. The administration of monoclonal antibodies against specific inflammatory mediators has been tested as a more refined strategy. Such monoclonal antibodies, as they target global immune activation pathways, also impair regulatory immune responses and therefore their long-term effects are still under debate. Immunosuppressive/regulatory immune cell-based therapy is a relatively recent approach with promising potential. Up to date, however, the implementation of autologous immunosuppressive cells in clinic has been limited by their peculiarly low frequency in patients with inflammatory conditions.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that seek to develop the innovative immunotherapeutic strategies targeting autoimmune processes, which will stimulate the continuing efforts to improve current treatments of patients with such diseases. We also solicit the submission of case reports and clinical trials relevant to the topics.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Proinflammatory molecules as immune targets of autoimmune processes
• Immunosuppressive drugs versus targeted immunotherapies (such as monoclonal antibodies and cellular therapies) for autoimmune diseases: benefits and pitfalls
• Experimental modeling of autoimmune conditions and immunotherapeutic treatments
• Clinical and preclinical evaluation of novel immunotherapeutic strategies for autoimmunity