Rather than suppressing immunity broadly or neutralizing one cytokine at a time, ai3Bio is building platforms that eliminate disease-causing Th17 cells, and other classes of inflammatory T cells,
in vivo and in a single step.
Why Deplete Pathogenic T cells?
CD161 (KLRB1) is a C-type lectin receptor expressed on several T-cell subsets, including Th17 cells, Tc17 cells, MAIT cells, subsets of γδT cells, and memory CD8⁺ T cells. CD161 expression is often associated with innate-like functions, tissue homing, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-17, IFN-γ, and TNF-α.
Pathogenic Th17/Tc17 cells are enriched within the CD161⁺ compartment and contribute to diseases such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and others.
CD161⁺ T-cell depletion represents an emerging strategy to target pathogenic Th17-associated immune responses at the cellular level. This approach is intended to provide broader and more durable control of autoimmune inflammation than cytokine-neutralizing therapies.
Two Platforms.
One Target: Pathogenic T Cells
LNP/mRNA Platform
A lipid nanoparticle delivers mRNA that triggers disease-causing T cells to self-destruct — precisely, in vivo, in one step.
Antibody Platform
A targeting antibody recruits the body's own immune cells to seek out and clear those same disease-causing T cells.
