Jun 2, 2026 · 30 min · 12 segments
In the future, can autoimmune disease become curable? A groundbreaking study from Germany suggests there may be a pathway in some cases. Patients with…
George SchettGuest
John HausmanHost
Welcome back to another episode of ACR OnAir, the official podcast of the American College of Rheumatology.
We've become very good at immunosuppression, especially after the advent of biologic and other targeted therapies.
With B-cell depletion, cytokine targeting, JAK inhibition, these therapies have really changed the outcomes for millions of patients, but they rarely produce a cure.
And then a few years ago, a group in Germany led by Dr. George Schett published something that really stopped a lot of us in our tracks.
Patients with severe refractory lupus received CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, technology borrowed from oncology for the treatment of cancer.
And many of his patients entered deep, drug-free remission that has now lasted five years.
And then the question changed from, can we better suppress your immune system, to can we actually reset your immune system and cure your disease? This idea has enormous implications, not just for lupus, but for inflammatory myopathies, systemic sclerosis, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and maybe autoimmune diseases more broadly.
Dr. Shett has been one of the central figures that's driving this field forward.
And today we talk about CAR T-cells, Tregs, immune resets, cure, relapse, and what the next decade of rheumatology may look like.
He leads several large research programs focused on inflammation, metabolism, immune regulation, and many others, and he's received numerous international honors, has authored over a thousand peer-reviewed publications.
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Welcome back to another episode of ACR OnAir, the official podcast of the American College of Rheumatology.
We've become very good at immunosuppression, especially after the advent of biologic and other targeted therapies.
With B-cell depletion, cytokine targeting, JAK inhibition, these therapies have really changed the outcomes for millions of patients, but they rarely produce a cure.
And then a few years ago, a group in Germany led by Dr. George Schett published something that really stopped a lot of us in our tracks.
Patients with severe refractory lupus received CD19 CAR T-cell therapy, technology borrowed from oncology for the treatment of cancer.
And many of his patients entered deep, drug-free remission that has now lasted five years.
And then the question changed from, can we better suppress your immune system, to can we actually reset your immune system and cure your disease? This idea has enormous implications, not just for lupus, but for inflammatory myopathies, systemic sclerosis, vasculitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and maybe autoimmune diseases more broadly.
Dr. Shett has been one of the central figures that's driving this field forward.
And today we talk about CAR T-cells, Tregs, immune resets, cure, relapse, and what the next decade of rheumatology may look like.
He leads several large research programs focused on inflammation, metabolism, immune regulation, and many others, and he's received numerous international honors, has authored over a thousand peer-reviewed publications.
