State of immunosuppressive agents in organ transplantation.

TRANSPLANT A nON has been built on the foundation of using drug thera.py to nonspecifically suppress the recipient immune response. Failure to achieve adequate immunosuppression is associated with a high incidence of graft loss from rejection. The present goal of immunosuppressive regimens is to suppress the immune response to the allograft while preserving sufficient immunity to avoid opportunistic infections and malignancies. In addition, these must be achieved while minimizing the inherent adverse effects of a particular drug. The ultimate goal of immunomodulation is to achieve donor-specific tolerance without alterations in immunity to other antigens. The purpose of this dissertation is to briefly summarize the mechanism and role of current and potential future immunosuppressive agents in solid organ transplantation. Since an exhaustive review of these agents is not possible, the reader is referred to a number of such reviews. 1-3