Antibody-mediated humoral rejection is one of the most challenging obstacles in kidney transplantation and the primary factor contributing to kidney allograft dysfunction.
Although it is now possible to precisely test for donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) to identify patients who have developed or are at high risk of humoral rejection, growing clinical uncertainties indicate that detecting antibodies alone is insufficient to fully characterize the state of humoral immunity in patients.
Recent studies have demonstrated that, compared to DSAs, donor-specific memory B cells can more effectively assess changes in patients’ humoral immune status, offering a novel approach for the diagnosis and treatment of humoral rejection.
Using a novel B-cell ELISPOT technique, the Spanish team was able to detect circulating memory B cells in peripheral blood and evaluate whether a patient was in a donor-specific high-sensitivity state. They discovered that donor-specific memory B cells could be present in the peripheral blood of patients who tested negative for DSAs preoperatively, and many of these patients subsequently developed acute humoral rejection following kidney transplantation.
These findings could usher in a new era for assessing the immune status of kidney transplant patients, ultimately benefiting millions.
Written by | Zhu Dong, Edited by | Qi Guisheng, Homepage Image Sourced from the Internet
