BM-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) differentiate along the mesenchymal lineage to bone, fat and cartilage. In vitro, MSC induce little, if any, proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes. MSC inhibit the proliferation of activated T cells and the formation of cytotoxic T cells. In vivo, they appear to have anti-inflammatory effects. Preliminary studies suggest that MSC preferentially home ...

Using genetically homogeneous inbred ACI and Fischer rats, the author has conducted active immunization with the skin and lymphoid cells from ACI rat to Fischer rat and succeeded in making an experimental model that unfailingly causes hyperacute rejection, which has heretofore been considered to be extremely difficult. Semipermanent survival was gained with syngenetic graft. With allograft, acu...

Flow cytometric crossmatching (FCXM) and panel reactive antibody (PRA) screening techniques are more sensitive than anti-human globulin enhanced cytotoxicity (AHG-CDC) techniques at detecting anti-HLA antibodies. The clinical significance of a positive FCXM in primary renal transplant recipients with a negative AHG-CDC crossmatch is unclear. We performed retrospective FCXM and flow cytometric p...

Approximately 10% of patients on the renal transplant (Tx) cadaver waiting list have high (> 20%) panel-reactive antibody (PRA) levels to human leukocyte antigens (HLA). Intravenous gamma-globulin (IVIG) has been shown to reduce anti-HLA cytotoxic antibody levels through an anti-idiotypic antibody-blocking effect. We report a successful renal Tx outcome in a 7-yr-old-girl with high PRA levels o...

It is well known that pre-transplant B cell activating factor (BAFF) levels are associated with the development of de novo anti-HLA antibodies and antibody mediated rejection post-transplant. However, the clinical significance of BAFF values at allograft rejection has not been determined. In this study, we investigated the clinical significance of pre-transplant BAFF level as well as post-trans...

Though complement (C) deposition within the transplant is associated with allograft rejection, the pathways employed have not been established. In addition, evidence suggests that C-mediated cytolysis may be necessary for the tolerance-inducing activities of mAb therapies. Hence, we assessed the role of the classical C pathway in acute allograft rejection and its requirement for experimental mA...

Preformed T-cell immune-sensitization should most likely impact allograft outcome during the initial period after kidney transplantation, since donor-specific memory T-cells may rapidly recognize alloantigens and activate the effector immune response, which leads to allograft rejection. However, the precise time-frame in which acute rejection is fundamentally triggered by preformed donor-specif...

The Ly49 family of genes encode NK cell receptors that bind class I MHC Ags and transmit negative signals if the cytoplasmic domains have immunoregulatory tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs). 5E6 mAbs recognize Ly49C and Ly49I receptors and depletion of 5E6+ NK cells prevents rejection of allogeneic or parental-strain H2d bone marrow cell (BMC) grafts. To determine the function of the Ly49...

BACKGROUND Capillary deposition of complement split product C4d has been suggested to be a valuable marker for humoral rejection. In this retrospective study we evaluated the clinical impact of C4d deposition in renal allografts with special emphasis on associations between C4d staining patterns and histological features of acute rejection. METHODS One hundred and two allograft biopsies obtai...