BACKGROUND Chronic antibody-mediated rejection is a major issue that affects long-term renal allograft survival. Since follicular helper T (Tfh) cells promote the development of antigen-specific B cells in alloimmune responses, we investigated the potential roles of Tfh cells, B cells and their alloimmune-regulating molecules in the pathogenesis of chronic renal allograft rejection in this stud...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Recurrence of the original kidney disease after renal transplantation is an increasingly recognized cause of allograft loss. Idiopathic membranous nephropathy (iMN) is a common cause of proteinuria that may progress to ESRD. It is known that iMN may recur after kidney transplantation, causing proteinuria, allograft dysfunction, and allograft loss. Limited data regardin...

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are critical players of immunological tolerance due to their ability to suppress effector T cell function thereby preventing transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases. During allograft transplantation, increases of both Treg expansion and generation, as well as their stable function, are needed to ensure allograft acceptance; thus, efforts have been made to discove...

Strategies to increase expanded criteria donor (ECD) transplantation are needed. We quantified the extent to which ECD kidneys provide recipients with a lifetime of allograft function by determining the difference between patient survival and death-censored allograft survival (graft survival). Initial analyses compared 5-year outcomes in the Eurotransplant Senior Program (European) and the Unit...