Article
Surgery
Christian Kjellman, Angela Q. Maldonado, Kristoffer Sjoholm, Bonnie E. Lonze, Robert A. Montgomery, Anna Runstrom, Tomas Lorant, Niraj M. Desai, Christophe Legendre, Torbjorn Lundgren, Bengt von Zur Muhlen, Ashley A. Vo, Hakan Olsson, Stanley C. Jordan
Summary: Imlifidase is a cysteine proteinase that can cleave IgG and convert a positive crossmatch to negative, enabling kidney transplantation between previously HLA incompatible pairs. Studies have shown that recipients of imlifidase-enabled allografts have comparable outcomes to other highly sensitized patients undergoing HLA-incompatible transplantation.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Idelberto R. Badell, Ronald F. Parsons, Geeta Karadkhele, Octav Cristea, Sue Mead, Shine Thomas, Jennifer M. Robertson, Grace S. Kim, John J. Hanfelt, Stephen O. Pastan, Christian P. Larsen
Summary: The study showed that belatacept therapy every 2 months is noninferior to monthly therapy in renal transplant patients, with good safety and tolerability. Although some rejection episodes and cases of donor-specific antibodies occurred in the every 2-month treatment group, adherent subjects to the study protocol only experienced a small number of these complications.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Review
Surgery
Edmund Huang, Angela Q. Maldonado, Christian Kjellman, Stanley C. Jordan
Summary: Imlifidase, derived from Streptococcus pyogenes, is a novel agent with potential for HLA desensitization and antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplantation. Clinical trials have shown rapid degradation of anti-HLA donor-specific antibodies, facilitating HLA-incompatible transplantation. Early experiences with imilfidase highlight considerations regarding kinetics of antibodies, timing of complementary therapies, and interference with cross match assays.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ines Papak, Elzbieta Chrusciel, Katarzyna Dziubek, Malgorzata Kurkowiak, Zuzanna Urban-Wojciuk, Tomasz Marjanski, Witold Rzyman, Natalia Marek-Trzonkowska
Summary: This article discusses the mechanisms by which NK cells lyse tumor cells and the role of inhibitory signals.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Christoph Schwarz, Benedikt Mahr, Moritz Muckenhuber, Anna Marianne Weijler, Lukas Walter Unger, Nina Pilat, Michaela Latus, Heinz Regele, Thomas Wekerle
Summary: The study demonstrates that therapy with IL2 complexes can improve the efficacy of CTLA4Ig by counterbalancing its unfavorable effect on Tregs, thereby significantly prolonging allograft survival and improving graft histology effectively.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Neha D. Patil, Olivia Domingues, Cecile Masquelier, Maud Theresine, Oceane Schlienger, Clinton Njinju Amin Asaba, Marine Thomas, Carole Seguin-Devaux, Hortense Slevogt, Markus Ollert, Jacques Zimmer
Summary: This article studies the phenotypic and functional aspects of NK cells in mice, with a focus on TAP-deficient mice. The research found that, even after strong cytokine stimulation, the initial education pattern conveyed to NK cells through inhibitory receptors remained unchanged.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Antoine Roux, Vincent Bunel, Natalia Belousova, Jonathan Messika, Sebastien Tanaka, Mathilde Salpin, Arnaud Roussel, Laurence Beaumont-Azuar, Clement Picard, Olivier Brugiere, Jerome Devaquet, Edouard Sage, Morgan Le Guen, Jean-Luc Taupin, Magali Devriese, Mathieu Glorion, Francois Parquin
Summary: Lung transplant candidates who are highly sensitized against human leucocyte antigen present a challenge in finding suitable donors. Current desensitization strategies have limitations. Imlifidase, a novel agent derived from Streptococcus pyogenes, has been used successfully to remove antibodies and allow transplantation in kidney candidates. We present the first case of using imlifidase for antibody depletion in a highly sensitized lung transplant candidate who underwent a successful bilateral lung transplant.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Maria Teresa Palano, Matteo Gallazzi, Martina Cucchiara, Andrea De Lerma Barbaro, Daniela Gallo, Barbara Bassani, Antonino Bruno, Lorenzo Mortara
Summary: The tumor immune microenvironment plays a crucial role in tumor development by facilitating interactions between immune cells through cell-to-cell contact and soluble factors. Cells like neutrophils and natural killer cells contribute to tumor progression through dangerous liaisons, dissecting cellular and molecular mechanisms involved.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ha-Rim Kim, Ye-Seul Kim, Dong-Ryung Lee, Bong-Keun Choi, Kang-Beom Kwon, Gi-Sang Bae
Summary: Echinacea purpurea extract can exert immunostimulatory effects in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice, increasing the indexes of immune organs, cell proliferation, and NK cell activities, and reversing the decrease in T-lymphocyte subsets and immunocytokines.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Howard J. Huang, Kenneth Schechtman, Medhat Askar, Cory Bernadt, Brigitte Mittler, Peter Dore, Chad Witt, Derek Byers, Rodrigo Vazquez-Guillamet, Laura Halverson, Ruben Nava, Varun Puri, Andrew Gelman, Daniel Kreisel, Ramsey R. Hachem
Summary: The use of Belatacept for immunosuppression after lung transplantation is associated with increased mortality.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Anat R. Tambur, Carrie Schinstock, Chelsea Maguire, David Lowe, Byron Smith, Mark Stegall
Summary: Reductions in cPRA calculated per antibody titer provide a more accurate assessment of the effectiveness of desensitization treatment for transplant candidates. The study indicates that changes greater than 2 titers are clinically meaningful. Therefore, calculating cPRA per titer is a reliable and simplified approach for risk stratification in desensitization trials.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Allan D. Kirk, Andrew B. Adams, Antoine Durrbach, Mandy L. Ford, David A. Hildeman, Christian P. Larsen, Flavio Vincenti, David Wojciechowski, E. Steve Woodle
Summary: Kidney transplant recipients administered belatacept-based maintenance immunosuppression show a more favorable metabolic profile, but have higher rates of early cellular rejection. Further clinical trials are needed to determine the optimal alternative belatacept-based regimen.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Review
Cell Biology
Mohamed Khalil, Dandan Wang, Elaheh Hashemi, Scott S. Terhune, Subramaniam Malarkannan
Summary: The article discusses the differences between the innate and adaptive immune systems, including signaling pathways and cytokine-mediated effects. The functional relevance of the 'third' signal in NK cells remains elusive.
Article
Surgery
Nathalie Chavarot, Gillian Divard, Anne Scemla, Lucile Amrouche, Olivier Aubert, Marianne Leruez-Ville, Marc O. Timsit, Claire Tinel, Julien Zuber, Christophe Legendre, Dany Anglicheau, Rebecca Sberro-Soussan
Summary: This study analyzed the characteristics and risk factors of CMV disease after conversion to Belatacept in kidney transplant recipients, finding that older age, D+/R- CMV serostatus, and low eGFR at conversion were independent risk factors. The incidence and cumulative incidence of CMV disease were significantly higher in patients treated with Belatacept compared to the control group.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Jignesh K. Patel, Guillaume Coutance, Alexandre Loupy, Deanna Dilibero, Michele Hamilton, Michelle Kittleson, Evan Kransdorf, Babak Azarbal, Osamu Seguchi, Xiaohai Zhang, David Chang, Dael Geft, Lawrence Czer, Shaida Varnous, Jon A. Kobashigawa
Summary: This study assessed the efficacy and safety of complement inhibition in highly sensitized heart transplant recipients at transplant. The results showed that the use of eculizumab significantly reduced the risk of antibody-mediated rejection in these patients, supporting the prophylactic use of complement inhibition in high immunological risk heart transplantation.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Shudhanshu Alishetti, Lorenzo Braghieri, Douglas L. Jennings, Nir Uriel, Paolo C. Colombo, Melana Yuzefpolskaya
Summary: The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of ARNi therapy in LVAD patients, finding a significant decrease in NT-proBNP levels but no significant changes in serum creatinine, BUN, or potassium levels.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL ORGANS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Diana T. Ruan, Maryjane Farr, Yuming Ning, Paul Kurlansky, Gabriel Sayer, Nir Uriel, Yoshifumi Naka, Koji Takeda
Summary: Serial RHC surveillance appears to be valid for patients with LVAD, as it provides useful data and helps monitor pulmonary hypertension. However, PVR values may fluctuate, especially in patients with high pre-LVAD PVR.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Veli K. Topkara, Kevin J. Clerkin, Justin A. Fried, Jan Griffin, Jayant Raikhelkar, Sun Hi Lee, Farhana Latif, Marlena Habal, Evelyn Horn, Maryjane A. Farr, Koji Takada, Yoshifumi Naka, Ulrich P. Jorde, Gabriel Sayer, Nir Uriel
Summary: This study analyzed the characteristics and outcomes of waitlisted patients for heart transplant in the US between 2018 and 2020, finding that patients using exception status were more likely to have nonischemic heart failure and blood type O. There were significant variations in exception status utilization across different regions and centers, and listing by exception criteria was associated with a higher incidence of heart transplantation compared to listing by standard criteria.
CIRCULATION-HEART FAILURE
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Kevin J. Clerkin, Jan M. Griffin, Justin A. Fried, Jayant Raikhelkar, Rashmi Jain, Veli K. Topkara, Marlena Habal, Farhana Latif, Susan Restaino, Paolo C. Colombo, Koji Takeda, Yoshifumi Naka, Maryjane A. Farr, Gabriel Sayer, Nir Uriel
Summary: Conditional survival (CS) is a dynamic method of survival analysis that estimates an individual's future survival probability changes post-transplant based on different prognostic variables. This study on heart transplant recipients found that women have higher long-term CS probabilities than men, and patients experiencing rejection and infection requiring hospitalization during the first year post-transplant had persistently decreased CS probabilities. These findings provide valuable information for patients and clinicians on future outcomes.
CLINICAL TRANSPLANTATION
(2021)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Gabriel Sayer, Greta Piper, Esther Vorovich, Jayant Raikhelkar, Gene H. Kim, Daniel Rodgers, Daichi Shimbo, Nir Uriel
Summary: This study aimed to determine the accuracy of the LiveOne device compared to invasive arterial line measurements for blood pressure monitoring. The results showed a high correlation between the LiveOne device and the A-line measurements, meeting clinical requirements.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HYPERTENSION
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jaya Batra, Ersilia M. DeFilippis, Stephanie Golob, Kevin Clerkin, Veli K. Topkara, Marlena Habal, Susan Restaino, Jan Griffin, Sun Hi Lee, Farhana Latif, Maryjane A. Farr, Gabriel Sayer, Jayant Raikelkar, Nir Uriel
Summary: The prevalence of pretransplant malignancy in heart transplant recipients has nearly tripled over the past 20 years. Patients with hematologic pretransplant malignancy are at increased risk of early mortality after heart transplantation. Patients with pretransplant malignancy are also more likely to develop posttransplant malignancies.
CIRCULATION-HEART FAILURE
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Veli K. Topkara, Pierre Elias, Rashmi Jain, Gabriel Sayer, Daniel Burkhoff, Nir Uriel
Summary: This study used machine learning models to predict myocardial recovery in LVAD patients and demonstrated that these models outperformed traditional statistical models in predicting LVAD-induced myocardial recovery. ML models can be helpful in identifying subsets of LVAD patients who may have a better response to myocardial recovery protocols.
CIRCULATION-HEART FAILURE
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Peter Wang, Luqiu Chen, Christine M. McIntosh, Jorden I. Lane, Rena Li, Stephen Z. Xie, Husain Sattar, Daria Esterhazy, Anita S. Chong, Maria-Luisa Alegre
Summary: Oral antigen exposure is an effective way to induce immune tolerance to promote graft acceptance. By orally introducing the antigen ovalbumin, we achieved long-term acceptance of skin grafts. The tolerance was donor-specific and influenced by the gut draining lymph nodes. This study expands the application of oral antigen exposure in transplantation and demonstrates that the systemic immune mechanisms supporting oral tolerance are sufficient to promote long-term graft acceptance.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Samarth S. Durgam, Maria-Luisa Alegre, Anita S. Chong
Summary: This article discusses the divergent effects of pregnancy on T cell and humoral immunity, the impact of prior pregnancy on responses to alloantigen re-encounter in solid organ transplantation, and potential strategies for controlling pregnancy-dependent allosensitization. Clinical evidence suggests that pregnancy induces humoral sensitization, while the sensitization of T cell responses is still uncertain. Preclinical evidence shows the effects of pregnancy on fetus-specific CD4(+) conventional, regulatory, and CD8(+) T cells, as well as humoral responses. These insights provide a therapeutic roadmap for controlling pregnancy-dependent allosensitization in solid organ transplantation.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Michael S. Andrade, James S. Young, Jared M. Pollard, Dengping Yin, Maria-Luisa Alegre, Anita S. Chong
Summary: This study investigates how dominant infectious tolerance can control a limited repertoire of memory T and B cells and reveals that sensitization to a single donor antigen can prevent stable transplant tolerance. The findings suggest a potential therapeutic checkpoint for achieving transplant tolerance in combination with costimulation blockade.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Matan H. Uriel, Kevin J. Clerkin, Koji Takeda, Yoshifumi Naka, Gabriel T. Sayer, Nir Uriel, Veli K. Topkara
Summary: A study using the UNOS registry found that the utilization of durable LVAD devices has declined under the new heart allocation system. However, bridging with HM 3 LVAD remains a safe strategy for carefully selected patients.
JOURNAL OF HEART AND LUNG TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Article
Surgery
Anat R. Tambur, Oriol Bestard, Patricia Campbell, Anita S. Chong, Marta Crespo, Mandy L. Ford, Howard M. Gebel, Sebastiaan Heidt, Michelle Hickey, Annette Jackson, Vasilis Kosmoliaptsis, Carmen Lefaucheur, Kevin Louis, Roslyn B. Mannon, Michael Mengel, Anna Morris, David F. Pinelli, Elaine F. Reed, Carrie Schinstock, Jean-Luc Taupin, Nicole Valenzuela, Chris Wiebe, Peter Nickerson
Summary: The Sensitization in Transplantation: Assessment of Risk workgroup, a collaboration between the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, aims to improve histocompatibility testing in support of solid organ transplantation. This report updates previous discussions and introduces two areas of exploration: non-human leukocyte antigen antibodies and the use of human leukocyte antigen antibody testing to evaluate antibody-removal therapies.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Review
Surgery
Yao Xiao, Andreas Schroeter, Friederike Martin, Tomohisa Matsunaga, Keita Nakamori, Maximilian J. Roesel, Marlena Habal, Anita S. Chong, Hao Zhou, Stefan G. Tullius
Summary: Biological sex has a broad impact on the immune system, affecting the incidence and severity of autoimmune diseases, infections, and malignancies. It also independently impacts the outcomes of solid organ transplantation, which are further influenced by age. The potential mechanisms may involve hormonal, genetic, and epigenetic factors.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Youhui Si, Yihan Wang, Qiaomu Tian, Qiang Wang, Jared M. Pollard, Pramod K. Srivastava, Aaron P. Esser-Kahn, Joel H. Collier, Anne I. Sperling, Anita S. Chong
Summary: The current study provides evidence that intranasal administration of peptide antigens primes naive CD8+ T cells in the lung independently before priming in the draining mediastinal lymph node. The transcriptional responses of lung cDC1 and cDC2 to intranasal nanofiber immunization were found to be distinct, but both subsets acquire shared transcriptional responses upon migration into the lymph node, revealing a stepwise activation process of cDC1 and cDC2 towards their ability to cross-prime effector and functional memory CD8+ T cell responses.