Life (Nov 2022)

Low Incidence of Acute Antibody-Mediated Rejection after HLA Desensitization in Living Donor Kidney Transplant Recipients

  • Constantino Fernández Rivera,
  • Catuxa Rodríguez Magariños,
  • María Calvo Rodríguez,
  • Tamara Ferreiro Hermida,
  • Marta Blanco Pardo,
  • Andrés López Muñiz,
  • Sara Erráez Guerrero,
  • Leticia García Gago,
  • Ángel Alonso Hernández

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/life12121993
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 12
p. 1993

Abstract

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Desensitization allows the performance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-incompatible transplants. However, the incidence of acute rejection (AR) is high. This study aims to analyze the incidence of AR after transplantation with HLA-incompatible living donors in patients who underwent desensitization. Patients were immunosuppressed with tacrolimus, mycophenolic acid derivatives, and steroids after being desensitized with rituximab, plasma exchange, and/or immunoadsorption with specific cytomegalovirus immunoglobulins. A negative complement-dependent cytotoxicity or flow cytometry crossmatch and a donor-specific antibody titer p = 0.07) and class II (p = 0.006), and RIS (p = 0.01). The two patients with antibody-mediated AR and one patient with T-cell-mediated AR lost their grafts. In conclusion, the incidence of acute antibody-mediated rejection after desensitization was 7.4%, which occurred early post-transplantation in patients with high MFI and was associated with early graft loss.

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