Assessing the potential of angiotensin II type 1 receptor and donor specific anti-endothelial cell antibodies to predict long-term kidney graft outcome.

Endothelial cell antigens have been reported as potential targets for antibodies in the context of organ transplantation, leading to increased risk for graft failure. Serum samples from 142 consecutive living donor kidney recipients were tested for the presence of antibodies to angiotensin II - type 1 receptor (AT1R), donor endothelial cells, and donor HLA. Graft survival was monitored for five years post-transplant, and secondary outcomes, including biopsy-proven rejection, proteinuria, biopsy-proven vasculopathy, and renal function based on serum creatinine were also assessed for the first two to three years.

Real-time qPCR for chimerism assessment in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants from unrelated adult and double umbilical cord blood.

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the standard therapy for patients with various malignant hematologic disorders. A successful treatment results in complete engraftment of donor cells in the absence of the patient's own hematopoietic system. Chimerism analysis, aimed at determining the coexistence of genetically different cell populations, is considered a useful method to measure treatment success.

HLA-DQ barrier: effects on cPRA calculations.

Background: Panel-reactive antibody (PRA) testing provides assessment of the breadth of sensitization a patient might have against human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antigens. The evolution of calculated PRA (cPRA) reflects the commitment of the transplant community to increase accessibility and promote equity to all patients awaiting kidney transplantation. Recent data from our center and others, however, suggested that a significant diversity of HLA-DQ antigens is not captured, which may lead to inequity in allocating cPRA points.

A prospective study evaluating the role of donor-specific anti-endothelial crossmatch (XM-ONE assay) in predicting living donor kidney transplant outcome.

Anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) may play a role in allograft rejection. We prospectively tested 150 consecutive living donor kidney transplant recipients, with transplants performed at Northwestern Memorial Hospital between January and December 2010, using the donor-specific endothelial (XM-ONE) crossmatch. 88/150 Patients received standard of care (SOC) immunosuppression and analyzed separately, in addition to the complete study cohort.

The DQ barrier: improving organ allocation equity using HLA-DQ information.

Background: The United Network for Organ Sharing algorithm for deceased-donor kidney allocation considers only the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR loci. Although HLA-DQ serologic specificities can be entered as unacceptable antigens, they are assigned only by the identity of the DQβ chain, disregarding the role of the similarly polymorphic α chain. DQα/β combinations result in unique antigenic epitopes, which serve as targets to different antibodies.

Role of ELISPOT Assays in Risk Assessment Pre- and Post-Kidney Transplantation.

Immunologic risk in kidney transplantation is typically minimized by avoiding, or at least limiting, the potential of donor specific humoral responses by testing for the presence of donor-specific antibodies (DSA). Additionally, selecting donor and recipient pairs with the least number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches has been shown to play a role in transplant outcome. However, numerous other factors may play a role in the success of transplant outcome and patient health.

Common gamma chain cytokines promote rapid in vitro expansion of allo-specific human CD8+ suppressor T cells.

Human CD8(+) regulatory T cells, particularly the CD8(+)CD28(-) T suppressor cells, have emerged as an important modulator of alloimmunity. Understanding the conditions under which these cells are induced and/or expanded would greatly facilitate their application in future clinical trials. In the current study, we develop a novel strategy that combines common gamma chain (γc) cytokines IL-2, IL-7 and IL-15 and donor antigen presenting cells (APCs) to stimulate full HLA-mismatched allogeneic human CD8(+) T cells which results in significant expansions of donor-specific CD8(+)CD28(-) T suppressor cells in vitro.