Engineered immune cells aim to tame Hard-to-Treat kidney disease
NCT ID NCT07535138
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This early-phase study tests a new treatment using specially engineered immune cells (CD19 CAR-γδ T cells) for people with severe autoimmune kidney diseases like lupus nephritis, IgA nephropathy, and membranous nephropathy that haven't responded to standard therapies. About 15 participants will receive a single infusion of these cells after a short chemotherapy-like conditioning. The main goals are to check safety and find the right dose, while also looking for signs that the treatment can control the disease.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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May 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Common Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age ≥18 years and ≤65 years; 2. Agree to participate in this study and sign the informed consent form; 3. Major organ function must meet the following criteria (exceptions are allowed for abnormalities associated with active autoimmune diseases): 1. Liver function: ALT, AST or ALP level ≤3 × ULN (upper limit of normal), bilirubin ≤2 × ULN; 2. Renal function: eGFR ≥30 mL/min/1.73m²; 3. Pulmonary function: blood oxygen saturation (without oxygen inhalation) ≥92%; 4. Cardiac function: hemodynamically stable, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≥55%; 5. Peripheral blood function: neutrophil count ≥1×10\^9/L, hemoglobin ≥60 g/L, platelets ≥30×10\^9/L; 4. Subjects of childbearing potential (including males and females) must agree to use medically acceptable effective contraceptive measures during the study period and for at least 1 year after CAR-T cell infusion. * Primary Membranous Nephropathy: 1. Diagnosed with primary membranous nephropathy (PMN) by renal biopsy within 18 months before screening; 2. Meet the current clinical criteria for refractory PMN: after 6 months of systemic treatment with immunosuppressive regimens recommended by the KDIGO guidelines (including steroids, cyclophosphamide, calcineurin inhibitors, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, etc.), persistent 24-hour urinary protein ≥3.5g and not reduced to less than 50% of the baseline level; 3. Relapsed PMN: after achieving complete or partial remission with the above immunosuppressive regimens, 24-hour urinary protein re-elevated to ≥ 3.5g. * Lupus Nephritis: 1. Diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) before screening, in accordance with the 2019 EULAR/ACR classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus; 2. Diagnosed with lupus nephritis (LN) by renal biopsy within 18 months before screening, with pathological classification consistent with ISN/RPS lupus nephritis class III/IV (with or without class V); 3. SLEDAI-2000 score ≥6 at screening with at least 1 A grade or at least 2 B grades in the BILAG 2004 index; or SLEDAI-2000 score ≥8 at screening; 4. Meet the current clinical criteria for refractory LN: after standardized full-dose and full-course high-dose glucocorticoid plus hydroxychloroquine therapy combined with at least 2 immunosuppressive agents of different mechanisms (cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, calcineurin inhibitors, etc.), or 1 immunosuppressive agent plus 1 biologic agent (belimumab, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, telitacicept, etc.), meet either of the following: ① After 3 months of standardized treatment, 24-hour urinary protein ≥1.5g and not reduced to less than 50% of baseline; ② After 6 months of standardized treatment, prednisone (or equivalent) cannot be tapered to 5 mg/day; 5. Relapsed LN: after achieving complete or partial remission with induction remission therapy, disease activity re-increased during maintenance therapy, requiring re-adjustment of the treatment regimen (including increasing glucocorticoid dose or re-initiating induction remission therapy). * IgA Nephropathy: 1. Diagnosed with IgA nephropathy by renal biopsy within 18 months before screening; 2. Meet the current clinical criteria for refractory IgA nephropathy: on the basis of standardized ACEI/ARB treatment, after 6 months of systemic immunosuppressive therapy recommended by the KDIGO guidelines (steroids, immunosuppressants, biologics), 24-hour urinary protein ≥0.5g and not reduced to less than 50% of baseline, or eGFR decreased by more than 50% within 3 months; 3. Two consecutive 24-hour urinary protein measurements \> 0.5g with an interval of ≥ 2 weeks after achieving clinical remission with the above immunosuppressive therapy. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Subjects with life-threatening conditions (e.g., catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome, acute severe renal failure) assessed by the investigator as unsuitable for enrollment in this study; 2. History of alcohol or drug abuse within 24 weeks prior to screening; 3. History of malignant tumors other than B-cell lymphoma, except for the following: malignancies confirmed to be cured or in remission for ≥5 years, radically resected basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, and carcinoma in situ at any site; 4. Major surgery (including joint surgery) within 24 weeks prior to screening, or planned surgery within 24 weeks after enrollment; 5. Complicated with overlapping mixed connective tissue disease, or other diseases that affect the assessment of disease activity; 6. Active hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection, defined as: subjects positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) with peripheral blood high-sensitivity HBV DNA quantification above the lower limit of detection; subjects with peripheral blood high-sensitivity HBV DNA quantification below the lower limit of detection may be enrolled only if the investigator provides appropriate prophylactic antiviral therapy; individuals positive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody with positive peripheral blood high-sensitivity HCV RNA quantification; 7. Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), Treponema pallidum, cytomegalovirus (CMV), or complicated with selective IgA deficiency; 8. Uncontrolled active infection (e.g., active pulmonary tuberculosis, etc., excluding simple urinary tract infection and bacterial pharyngitis); prophylactic administration of antibiotics, antiviral or antifungal agents is permitted; 9. Clinical signs of herpes or varicella-zoster virus infection (especially varicella, herpes zoster) within 12 weeks prior to screening; 10. History of major cardiovascular diseases within 6 months prior to screening, including NYHA class III or IV heart failure, myocardial infarction, angioplasty or stenting, unstable angina, uncontrolled or symptomatic atrial arrhythmia, any ventricular arrhythmia, or other clinically significant cardiac diseases; 11. History of symptomatic deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism within 6 months prior to screening; 12. Central nervous system disorders caused by autoimmune or non-autoimmune diseases (including epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, organic brain syndrome, cerebrovascular accident, encephalitis, central nervous system vasculitis); 13. Pregnant or lactating women; 14. Hypersensitivity to any component of the CAR-γδ T cell product (including fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, tocilizumab); 15. Administration of live vaccines within 6 weeks prior to the start of conditioning therapy; 16. Participation in other clinical trials within 3 months prior to screening; 17. Any other conditions deemed by the investigator to render the subject ineligible for enrollment in this clinical trial.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Xijing Hospital
Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710032, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Kidney biopsies probed for scarring signal in lupus
- Blood test may help doctors Fine-Tune kidney disease therapy
- Can a daily pill protect kidneys in IgA nephropathy? MRI study puts atrasentan to the test
- Can AI learn to spot kidney disease in biopsy images?
- Kidney disease drug may train immune cells to calm themselves
- Can a single injection drug calm the immune attack on kidneys?