BACKGROUND The significance of immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen was studied in 60 patients with HCV infection after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) diagnosed by polymerase chain reaction. METHODS Patients were followed up for a mean of 28 months after transplantation. Sera collected three months before transplantation, and one and 12 months after t...

Up to 80% of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy have non-complement-fixing IgG4 autoantibodies to the phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R). Membranous nephropathy recurs in approximately 40% of patients after kidney transplantation, but the mechanism is unknown. Here, we describe a patient with recurrent membranous nephropathy 13 days after kidney transplantation whose graft biopsy sp...

PURPOSE Few complications have been reported for deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (DLEK). Endothelial graft failure has rarely been disclosed as a complication. Although the histopathologic and ultrastructural analysis of a failed DLEK graft has been previously described, we are not aware of any reports of these features in a case of traumatic endothelial graft failure. METHODS We repor...

Graft-versus-host disease is a severe complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The major role is played by alloreactive donor T-cell clones leading to host tissue damage. Selective depletion is a strategy to eliminate host-reactive donor T cells from haematopoietic stem cell allografts to prevent graft-versus-host disease while conserving useful donor immune functions. We have used...

A variety of therapeutic options are now available for advanced renal cell cancer, including antiangiogenic and anti-mTOR agents. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, through its graft-versus-tumor effect, can induce clinical responses and prolonged survival in selected cytokine-refractory patients. However, the still relevant transplant-related mortality due to toxicity and graf...

Nude (athymic) or anti-lymphocyte serum-treated mice have absent delayed graft rejection due to impaired T-cell responses. Nonetheless, these mice can reject skin grafts, acutely, when treated with anti-H-2 antibody and additional complement. Resolution of the components in the H-2 antisera, by either absorption or by selective production of antisera of restricted specificity has demonstrated t...

Dogs given 920 cGy of total body irradiation (TBI) followed by autologous marrow infusion uniformly achieve sustained hematopoietic reconstitution. We have previously shown that administration of the anti-MHC class II monoclonal antibody (MoAb) H81.98.21 (IgG2a) at 0.6 mg/kg/d immediately after transplantation results in delayed graft failure. A second noncrossblocking anti-MHC class II MoAb, B...

Inductive therapy with anti-CD4 or anti-CD40L monoclonal antibodies (mAb) leads to long-term allograft acceptance but the immune parameters responsible for graft maintenance are not well understood. This study employed an adoptive transfer system in which cells from mice bearing long-term cardiac allografts following inductive anti-CD4 or anti-CD40L therapy were transferred into severe combined...

BACKGROUND Any inflammatory response following corneal transplantation may induce rejection and irreversible graft failure. The purpose of this study is to analyze the anti-inflammatory effect of azithromycin (AZM) following experimental keratoplasty in rats. METHODS Corneal transplants were performed between Fisher-donor and Lewis-recipient rats. Recipients were postoperatively treated three...