Living donor kidney transplantation at the University of Michigan.

Since renal transplantation is the definitive therapy for most patients with end stage renal disease, we have the challenge of meeting the needs of this rapidly growing population. Currently greater than 1000 patients are waiting for kidney transplantation at the University of Michigan. To meet this demand we have aggressively expanded the donor pool from both deceased and living donors.

Role for CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells in inhibition of graft rejection by extracorporeal photopheresis.

Background: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is used to treat recurrent severe rejection in clinical heart and lung recipients. The mechanisms of the salutary effects of ECP are poorly understood, but appear to involve regulation of T-cell-mediated alloreactive responses, possibly by induction of regulatory T cells. We created a mouse model of ECP to determine the effects of ECP on T-cell responses in vivo and the contribution of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells.