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Objectives: We aimed to identify transcriptional gene signatures predictive of clinical response, for pharmacodynamic evaluation, and to provide mechanistic insight into JNJ-55920839, a human IgG1κ neutralizing mAb targeting IFN-α/IFN-ω, in participants with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)., Methods: Blood samples were obtained from SLE participants at baseline and up to Day 130, who received six 10 mg/kg IV doses of JNJ-55920839/placebo every 2 weeks. Participants with mild-to-moderate SLE who achieved clinical responses using SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 Responder Index 4-point change were considered responders. Transcriptional signatures from longitudinally collected blood were generated by RNA-Seq; signatures were generated by microarray from baseline blood samples exposed in vitro to JNJ-55920839 versus untreated., Results: Two gene signatures (IFN-I Signaling and Immunoglobulin Immune Response) exhibited pharmacodynamic changes among JNJ-55920839 responders. The Immunoglobulin signature, but not the IFN-I signature, was elevated at baseline in JNJ-55920839 responders. A gene cluster associated with neutrophil-mediated immunity was reduced at baseline in JNJ-55920839 responders, substantiated by lower neutrophil counts in responders. An IFN-I signature was suppressed by JNJ-55920839 in vitro treatment versus untreated blood to a greater extent in responders before in vivo dosing., Conclusions: These signatures may enable enrichment for treatment responders when using IFN-I-suppressing treatments in SLE.

To determine whether non-T cells contribute to impaired generation of nonrestricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity in human SLE, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and sort-purified T cells from normal subjects and SLE patients were stimulated with anti-CD3 mAb, maintained in IL2, and assayed for cytolytic activity against 51Cr-labeled Daudi target cells. In addition, T cell and non-T cell fractions were isolated from nine pairs of monozygotic (MZ) twins discordant for SLE, reconstituted in a criss-cross pattern, and stimulated and assayed for cytolytic activity. Cytolytic responses were significantly lower in SLE PBMC cultures than in normal PBMC cultures. Addition of SLE serum to normal PBMC cultures did not inhibit generation of normal cytolytic responses, and neither 'resting' SLE PBMC prior to stimulation nor addition of neutralizing anti-IL10 mAb or costimulating anti-CD28 mAb restored generation of SLE cytolytic responses to normal. Nevertheless, despite the significantly greater cytolytic responses in normal PBMC cultures than in SLE PBMC cultures, cytolytic responses in normal purified T cell cultures were only modestly and insignificantly greater than those in SLE purified T cell cultures. Moreover, substitution of 'healthy' non-T cells for SLE non-T cells in four of the nine MZ twin-pairs appreciably enhanced cytolytic responses, and substitution of SLE non-T cells for 'healthy' non-T cells in five of the seven twin-pairs tested appreciably diminished cytolytic responses. Taken together, these results indicate that, in addition to any inherent SLE T cell abnormalities, impaired function of SLE non-T cells contributes to impaired generation of nonrestricted CTL activity.