Pre-transplant antibody screening and anti-CD154 costimulation blockade promote long-term xenograft survival in a pig-to-primate kidney transplant model.

ABSTRACT: Xenotransplantation has the potential to alleviate the organ shortage that prevents many patients with end-stage renal disease from enjoying the benefits of kidney transplantation. Despite significant advances in other models, pig-to-primate kidney xenotransplantation has met limited success. Preformed anti-pig antibodies are an important component of the xenogeneic immune response. To address this, we screened a cohort of 34 rhesus macaques for anti-pig antibody levels. We then selected animals with both low and high titers of anti-pig antibodies to proceed with kidney transplant from galactose-α1,3-galactose knockout/CD55 transgenic pig donors. All animals received T-cell depletion followed by maintenance therapy with costimulation blockade (either anti-CD154 mAb or belatacept), mycophen

SUBMITTER: Higginbotham L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4930152 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature