Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics

CAR T Cell Therapies Beyond Oncology

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics is pleased to announce a new Article Collection dedicated to the examining how CAR T cell therapy can be used to treat chronic inflammatory and autoimmune disorders.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells have proven efficacy as therapies for hematologic malignancies. Now, CAR T cells are showing promise in the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Because B lymphocytes drive the progression of most autoimmune disorders, using engineered cytotoxic T cells to specifically target and deplete them has yielded remarkable initial results. With over 150 clinical trials currently underway worldwide, researchers are exploring CAR T applications across a wide range of autoimmune diseases, non-resolving infections, and chronic inflammation. The remarkable success of the CAR technology has spurred the development of alternative and complementary immunotherapies. This collection of articles summarizes CAR T technologies in various stages of preclinical and clinical development aimed at treating human non-oncologic, immune-mediated disorders.

Autoimmune diseases affect 5–7% of the adult population, yet conventional medications often only modify or slow disease progression. Because standard treatments generally suppress the entire immune system, they leave patients at a heightened risk for infection and carry serious side effects that limit long-term use. For a growing number of patients, these conventional therapies are insufficient as they fail to reverse or cure the underlying condition. Furthermore, as many autoimmune disease manifestations diversify over time, clinical management becomes increasingly complex. A new approach to this group of disorders, which include chronic inflammatory conditions, is urgently needed. Initial results from clinical trials using engineered cell therapies provide a sense of justified optimism for this advanced immunotherapy in treating heterogeneous and inadequately treated patient populations.

The application of CAR T cell immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases has invigorated basic and translational research and mobilized significant resources to harness the potential of this technology in the service of a large and diverse patient population. Researchers are making remarkable progress in identifying new autoimmune indications, designing novel chimeric receptor architectures, and exploring diverse cell types for these therapies. Beyond traditional autologous approaches, significant attention is now directed toward allogeneic "off-the-shelf" systems, armoured CAR T cells designed for enhanced persistence, and the emerging field of in vivo CAR T cell development. This Article Collection invites Research Articles, Review Articles, Mini-Reviews, Methods, Product Reviews, Case Reports, Brief Reports, Article Commentaries, and Meeting Reports as suitable manuscript formats for publication.

Keywords: Engineered cell therapy; Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR); Autoimmune disease; B and T lymphocytes; Pre-clinical studies and Clinical Trials

Manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review. Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript as it will be rejected if it does not fall within the scope of the journal.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 15 October 2026. 

Please submit your manuscript on our website, selecting "CAR T Cell Therapies Beyond Oncology" from the drop-down menu for consideration in this Article Collection. Please include any discount codes before you submit as these codes will not be applied retrospectively. For Article Collection and/or discount queries, please contact the Commissioning Editor, Ashley Ambros.

Meet the Guest Advisor

Professor Radic has over three decades of experience directing cutting-edge research in autoimmunity. During this time, he has secured research funding from federal, corporate, and philanthropic sources, resulting in over 120 peer-reviewed articles. His research interests evolved from the structural analysis of autoantibodies to the origins of inciting autoantigens, ultimately culminating in the pioneering study of CAR T cells in a mouse model of lupus. Work led by the Radic lab has drawn global attention to the potential of engineered cells for a widening range of autoimmune conditions and has stimulated numerous clinical trials. In recognition of these contributions, Dr. Radic was honoured with the Innovator Award from the Lupus Research Alliance in 2024.