Transplantation is today firmly established as the therapy of choice for end-stage organ failure. However, despite recent developments, this therapy is still not without challenges and risks: The necessity to take immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of ones life to prevent allograft rejection trades the morbidity and mortality of organ failure for the risks of infection and cancer as well as for an increased mortality from cardiovascular disease. Thus, there is an urgent need for optimizing the outcome of transplantation by achieving long-term, drug-free graft acceptance with normal organ function. Recently, numerous insights into the dynamic inter-relationship of host immune responses elicited by donor antigen presentation have substantially broadened our understanding of the cascade of events resulting in the acquisition of tolerance. With the pharmacopoeia of the transplant biologist continually expanding, the potential treatment combinations have become baffling and their impact on strategies to induce tolerance even more complex. This book presents novel insights into the pathways of acute rejection and their monitoring through molecular tests, new immunosuppressive agents currently under development as well as the most recent and promising approaches to induce tolerance that have emerged from experimental animal studies.
Preface: Ronco, C.; Chiaramonte, S.; Remuzzi, G. Renal Transplantation:
Strategies to Prevent Organ Rejection - The Role of an Inter-Regional
Reference Center: Cardillo, M. et al. Kidney Transplantation in the
Hyperimmunized Patient: Gloor, J. Chronic Induction. What's New in the
Pipeline: Vincenti, F. Steroid or Calcineurin Inhibitor-Sparing
Immunosuppressive Protocol s: Grinyo, J.M.; Cruzado, J.M. Steroid-Free
Lymphocyte Depletion Protocols. The Potential for Part ial Tolerance?
McCauley, J. Chronic Graft Loss. Immunological and Non-Immunological Factors:
He rnandez-Fuentes, M.P.; Lechler, R.I. Lymphocyte Depletion as a Barrier to
Immunological Tolerance: Neuja hr, D.; Turka, L.A. Monitoring of
Immunosuppressive Therapy in Renal Transplanted Patie nts: Chiaramonte, S.;
Dissegna, D.; Ronco, C. Chronic Allograft Nephropathy. A Multiple Approach to
Target Nonimm unological Factors: Ruggenenti, P. Transplantation Tolerance. A
Complex Scenario Awaiting Clinical App licability: Sayegh, M.H.; Perico, N.;
Remuzzi, G. Dendritic Cells, Tolerance and Therapy of Organ Allograft
Rejection: Raimondi, G.; Thomson, A.W. Natural versus Adaptive Regulatory T
Cells: Cassis, L; Aiello, S.; Noris, M. Reviewing the Mechanism of Peripheral
Tolerance in Clinical Transpl antation: Suciu-Foca, N.; Cortesini, R. The
Goal of Intragraft Gene Therapy: Tomasoni, S.; Benigni, A.
