Improved Graft Function following Desensitization of Anti-AT₁R and Autoantibodies in a Heart Transplant Recipient Negative for Donor-Specific Antibodies with Antibody-Mediated Rejection: A Case Report

Abstract

HLA donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) pre and post transplant increase the risk of antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and lead to poor graft survival. Increasing data exist to support the involvement of non-HLA antibodies in triggering an immunological response. The development of non-HLA antibodies specific for AT1R is associated with poor clinical outcomes in orthotopic heart transplant recipients. This case presents an investigation of non-HLA antibodies in a 56-year-old female heart transplant recipient diagnosed with AMR in the absence of DSAs.

Keywords

• orthotopic heart transplantation
• autoantibodies
• rejection
• antibody-mediated rejection
• AT₁R