Hepatocytes ; immunology ; Liver Transplantation ; immunology

Graft Rejection ; immunology ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Liver ; immunology ; Liver Regeneration ; immunology ; Liver Transplantation ; immunology ; Transplantation, Homologous

Skin grafting has been one of the most important approaches for covering burn wounds, however long-term survival of allogeneic or xenogeneic skin graft is currently not successful. How to induce immune tolerance for life-time survival of allogeneic or xenogeneic skin graft is still remote objective to be solved. However, clinicians and scientists in China have worked very hard and made great contribution to this field during the past 50 years, no matter how difficult it is. They are the respected pioneers in the understanding of immunological change in "Chinese Method" skin grafting, its local immune tolerance, immunology of pre-treatment of skin graft, etc. Herein, the most outstanding and impressive progresses in immunological responses after skin grafting in the past 50 years in China have been reviewed and presented for memory, for future and for extending a salute.
Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Skin Transplantation ; immunology ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; immunology ; Transplantation, Homologous ; immunology

Dendritic cells (DC) play an important roles in the maintenance of central immune tolerance and peripheral immune tolerance. DC can be involved in formation of autoimmune tolerance by many mechanisms and demonstrate strong plasticity, so that DC become hot issue in the research of transplantation tolerance recently. In this article the DC typing and its role, the indirect pathway of DC-inducing immune tolerance, the F1t3L and apoptotic cell role, the modified DC by genetic engineering and the immune inhibitors were summarized.
Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Transplantation Tolerance ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of escharectomy during shock stage on systemic and intestinal immune function and its mechanism in scalded rats.

METHODSNinety-six Wistar rats were employed in the study of which 8 were used as normal control group. The donor skin from the trunk in twenty-four rats were preserved in liquid nitrogen. The other 64 rats were subjected to 30% full-thickness scalding, and they were randomly divided into A (n = 24, no treatment after scalding), B (n = 24) and C (n = 16) groups. Physiological saline was intraperitoneally injected (50 ml/kg) on the 24 post-scalding hours to the rats in the B and C groups. The rats in B group underwent escharectomy during shock stage, and the excision wounds were covered with the cryo-preserved alloskin. The rats in C group received the same treatment as in B group but at 72 post-scalding hours. The change in the proliferative ability of splenic lymphocytes, the plasma and intestinal tissue content of interleukin 2 (IL-2), the contents of sIgA in intestinal mucus, and the content of DAO in the intestinal tissue were observed on 2, 4 and 8 post burn days (PBD) in A and B groups and also on 4 and 8 PBD in C group, respectively.

RESULTSThe splenocytic proliferative ability, IL-2 level in the plasma and intestinal tissue, and the sIgA content in intestinal mucus in the rats in A, B and C groups were lower than that in control group at all time points (P < 0.05). The proliferative ability of splenic lymphocytes in B group on 4 and 8 PBD and in C group on 8 PBD respectively was similar to that in control group. Whereas the IL-2 content in plasma and in intestinal tissue was higher in B and C groups than that in A group (P < 0.01). The sIgA content in intestinal mucus in B group was twice of that in C group respectively [(3.51 +/- 2.14) mg/g vs (1.40 +/- 0.64) mg/g, (3.03 +/- 0.95) mg/g vs (1.52 +/- 1.26) mg/g (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01)] on 4 and 8 PBD. The DAO activity in the intestinal tissue in A group was lower than that in control and B group (P < 0.05) on 4 and 8 PBD.

CONCLUSIONEscharectomy during shock stage might be beneficial to the recovery of the systemic and intestinal immune functions in rats with scalding injury.

Animals ; Burns ; immunology ; surgery ; Immunoglobulin A, Secretory ; immunology ; Interleukin-2 ; immunology ; Intestines ; immunology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Shock, Traumatic ; immunology ; surgery ; Skin Transplantation ; immunology ; T-Lymphocytes ; immunology

Antibodies ; immunology ; Antibody Formation ; Complement C4b ; immunology ; pharmacology ; Diagnosis ; Graft Rejection ; diagnosis ; immunology ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; immunology ; Peptide Fragments ; immunology ; pharmacology ; Transplantation, Homologous ; immunology

Advances in the field of xenotransplantation raise the intriguing possibility of using porcine red blood cells (pRBCs) as an alternative source for blood transfusion. Serologically, pRBCs share a number of characteristics with human red blood cells (RBCs), so pRBCs are considered the most likely donor for xenotransfusion. However, xenoantigens on porcine erythrocytes play major roles in antibody-mediated RBC destruction. Although the alphaGal epitope (Galalpha1, 3Galbeta1, 4GalNAc-R) is the major xenoantigen on porcine erythrocytes and is responsible for the binding of the majority of human natural antibodies, other non-alphaGal xenoantigens have been identified. The importance of these non-alphaGal xenoantigens in binding human natural antibodies and subsequently triggering immunological responses cannot be underestimated.
Animals ; Blood Group Antigens ; immunology ; Erythrocyte Transfusion ; methods ; Erythrocytes ; cytology ; immunology ; Humans ; Swine ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo review the role of polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) gene and antibodies against MICA antigens in transplant immunology.

DATA SOURCESThe data used in this review were mainly from our own results and from the relevant English language literatures published from 1999 to 2010. Some data presented in this review are in press.

STUDY SELECTIONArticles regarding MICA gene discovery and pioneering finding of antibodies against MICA antigen and allograft rejection were selected. This review chronicles the development of our understanding of the role that MICA antigens and antibodies may play in organ transplantation.

RESULTSPolymorphic glycoprotein MICA antigens were detected on freshly isolated human umbilical cord endothelial cells, but not on peripheral lymphocytes. Antibodies were found and typing of recipients and donors by sequencing the MICA alleles has established that de novo antibodies produced in kidney transplant recipients are directed at mismatched MICA epitopes and are associated with acute rejection and chronic transplant failure. The specificity of antibodies against the epitopes of MICA antigens were well characterized by donor MICA typing, single antigen array testing with antibody absorption and elution. Acute graft-versus-host disease was observed in stem-cell recipients who were mismatched for MICA.

CONCLUSIONSImmunization against mismatched MICA epitopes encountered in donor organs after transplantation may result in antibodies against MICA alleles. Testing for MICA donor-specific antibodies (DSA) which are associated with early failure of kidney transplants may be helpful for identifying some of the targets of antibodies against antigens other than the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) and for improving transplantation outcome.

Antibodies ; immunology ; Graft Rejection ; immunology ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I ; immunology ; Humans ; Organ Transplantation

BACKGROUNDThe status of sensitization in kidney transplant recipients in the last 10 years and the trend of induction and maintenance therapy in patients of different panel-reactive antibody (PRA) levels have not been analyzed. The aim of this study was to investigate the current status of pre-transplant sensitization and its association with graft outcome.

METHODSA total of 155 570 kidney transplants reported to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) during 2000 - 2009 were included in this study. We investigated the current status of pre-transplant sensitization and its association with graft outcome, and also compared the usage trend of 16 induction agents and 7 maintenance immunosuppressants in patients at different PRA levels. The difference of distributions of categorical variables between groups was investigated using the chi-square test. Unpaired t test or one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for numerical variables. The survival rates of transplant recipients were estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods and significance was determined by Log-rank test. Two-side P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 10 with all available updates as of March 2010 (StataCorp LP, College Station, Texas 77845, USA).

RESULTSDespite the fact of the decreased percentages of kidney transplant recipients with presensitization history, the mean PRA levels of all kidney recipients has been increasing in the last 7 years, which was possibly due to the introduction of more sensitive antibody testing techniques. The percentage of patients with treated rejection episodes within one year post-transplant were significantly higher in sensitized patients (PRA = 50% - 100%:14.3% and PRA = 1% - 49%:13.9%) than in non-sensitized patients (12.4%). Both 1- and 5-year graft survival rates improved in the last 10 years; this was more significant in high PRA patients. Thymoglobulin was the most commonly used induction agent in last 10 years. Its users increased from 10% to 46% in non-sensitized patients, from 12% to 57% in PRA 1% - 49% patients, and from 19% to 63% in PRA 50% - 100% patients. The users of Campath, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and Rituximab have been increasing and reached 16%, 20%, and 11% in highly sensitized patients. In the last 5 years, steroid-free patients were 33% - 36%, 30% - 37%, and 10% - 25% for PRA 0, 1% - 49%, and 50% - 100% respectively. Almost 90% of patients were on Prograf at discharge. It seems that Myfortic users have been increasing since 2005 and it may soon replace mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) if long-term follow-up study conforms its safety and efficacy.

CONCLUSIONSApplication of sensitive antibody testing techniques increased the mean PRA levels of transplant recipients in spite of a decreased percentage of sensitized recipients. Induction and maintenance therapy differed in patients at different PRA levels.

Graft Rejection ; immunology ; Graft Survival ; immunology ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; methods ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; therapeutic use ; Kidney Transplantation ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the anti-tumor effect of dendritic cells (DC) pulsed with G422 glioblastomas RNA in mice bearing intracranially G422 glioblastomas.

METHODSDCs were pulsed in vitro with glioblastomas G422 cell RNA. The tumor-bearing mice were injected intratumorally or subcutaneously with pulsed DCs, PBS, non-pulsed DCs. The survival duration of mice was recorded. Serum levels of cytokine IFN-gamma, IL-2, IL-10, IL-4 were detected. Pathological examination was performed.

RESULTSThe survival duration of mice with DC-based vaccine increased significantly(P<0.01). The serum IFN-gamma level was increased (P<0.01) and IL-10 level was decreased (P<0.05) after treatment. Pathological examination showed necrotic tumor in the treatment mice.

CONCLUSIONDC vaccination can significantly increase survival duration of mice with intratumoral or subcutaneous administration of vaccines.

Animals ; Brain Neoplasms ; immunology ; therapy ; Cancer Vaccines ; immunology ; Dendritic Cells ; immunology ; transplantation ; Glioblastoma ; immunology ; therapy ; Immunotherapy ; methods ; Mice ; RNA, Neoplasm ; immunology ; Random Allocation ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; immunology