Transplantation Immunology Editor's Choice Collection

Multi-epitope vaccines, from design to expression; an in silico approach The article provides a comprehensive overview of the use of immunoinformatics tools for the design and development of multi-epitope vaccines, discussing various computational methods for predicting epitopes, assessing antigenicity, and incorporating adjuvants and linkers to enhance the vaccine's immunogenicity and efficacy. The article highlights the potential of multi-epitope vaccines in combating a wide range of infectious diseases and their applications in personalized medicine and cancer treatment.

High-resolution HLA genotyping improves PIRCHE-II assessment of molecular mismatching in kidney transplantation The article examines the impact of using high-resolution (HR) HLA genotyping versus low-resolution (LR) genotyping for PIRCHE-II analysis in kidney transplantation. It shows that HR genotyping can overcome the limitations of HLA imputation, especially in non-Caucasian populations, and provide more accurate risk stratification for clinical outcomes like de novo donor-specific antibody formation.

Profiling the genetic diversity of the HLA system in Mexico using 9-locus allele and haplotype frequencies from donors in the NMDP Mexico Donor Center The article profiles the genetic diversity of the HLA system in Mexico using 9-locus allele and haplotype frequencies from over 170,000 volunteer donors in the NMDP Mexico donor center. It demonstrates that Mexican populations share multiple frequent alleles and haplotypes with US Mexican or Chicano, US South/Central American Hispanic, and some Latino populations, and that the NMDP Mexico donors contribute significantly to the diversity of the overall NMDP registry.

Role of HLA matching and donor specific antibody development in long-term survival, acute rejection and cardiac allograft vasculopathy The article examines the role of HLA matching and donor-specific antibody (DSA) development in long-term survival, acute rejection, and cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) in heart transplant patients. The key findings indicate that a higher number of HLA-DR mismatches negatively impacts long-term survival, while the development of DSA class II, particularly anti-DQB1 and anti-DQA1, is associated with an increased risk of CAV.

Lung transplantation: Current insights and outcomes The article discusses the current insights and outcomes of lung transplantation, focusing on the challenges in predicting and retarding immune-mediated rejection events. It provides an overview of the key immune-related molecular routes that trigger early and late events of lung allograft rejection, as well as the emerging biomarkers that may improve precision medicine in the lung transplantation field.

Borderline rejection: To treat or not to treat? The article examines the impact of treating borderline acute T-cell mediated rejection (TCMR) in kidney transplant recipients, finding that treatment with steroid pulses significantly increased graft function (eGFR) in patients with borderline rejection detected during indication biopsies, but not in those with borderline rejection detected during surveillance biopsies with stable graft function.

Mechanism and regulation of the complement activity in kidney xenotransplantation This article discusses the challenges of xenotransplantation, particularly how species differences cause complement system dysregulation and graft rejection. It highlights recent genetic modifications in pigs and therapies that improve graft survival. These advancements are key steps toward clinical application.

Spanish guidelines for kidney transplantation in highly sensitized patients with donor-specific anti-HLA antibodies This article outlines Spanish guidelines for managing highly sensitized kidney transplant patients with anti-HLA antibodies. It discusses strategies to expand transplant options, including antigen delisting and innovative desensitization techniques like imlifidase. The guidelines also emphasize post-transplant monitoring to detect and manage antibody rebound and rejection, aiming to improve access and outcomes for high-risk patients.

Major histocompatibility complex and peptide specificity underpin CD8+ T cell direct alloresponse Even though direct responses drive acute and late allograft rejection, little is known about the molecular basis that underpin their vigor and intensity. By using artificial antigen presenting cells that express costimulatory molecules along with a single HLA allele, the investigators were able to define precursor frequency, MHC specificity, and peptide specificity of CD8+ T cells and provide insights into the fundamentals of direct alloimmunity.

High-dimensional profiling of immune responses to kidney transplant reveals heterogeneous T helper 1 and B cell effectors associated with rejection This study utilizes single cell RNA-seq and flow cytometric approaches to characterize and compare CD4+ T and B cells of kidney transplant recipients with stable allografts or with allografts experiencing T-cell or antibody-mediated rejection. In addition to showing phenotypic, transcriptional, and clonal state differences corroborated by plasma cytokine profiles, this study, with a robust N of 76 patients, provides an incredibly rich dataset for the immunology community.

Non-HLA Antibodies and the Risk of Antibody-mediated Rejection without Donor-specific Anti-HLA Antibodies After Lung Transplantation Antibody-mediated rejection secondary to donor-specific antibodies (DSA) to mismatched human leukocyte antigens (HLA) is a known risk factor for chronic lung allograft dysfunction. This study supports the growing recognition of the critical role of non-HLA antibodies in the development of antibody-mediated rejection without donor-specific antibodies (DSA) after lung transplantation.

Immunologic Pretreatment of Donor Tissue in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation: A Systematic Review While the advancement of surgical and preservation technologies has addressed significant challenges in vascularized composite allotransplantation, the immunological barrier remains problematic, with high rejection rates even under modern immunosuppressive regimens. The systematic review highlights the potential role of immunologic pretreatments in improving patient outcomes.