Start up Grants 2021
Summary Dagmar Kollmann
Liver Assessment and Treatment During Normothermic Ex Situ Machine Perfusion
Normothermic Ex Situ Liver Perfusion (NEsLP) has been established at our institution as a novel preservation technique with the opportunity to assess liver quality prior to transplantation. For this study, primarily rejected extended criteria donor livers have been perfused and perfusate as well as bile samples have been collected for further analyses. Some of the study livers have been treated with a drug which aims to optimize bile composition and bile duct protection. The samples obtained during the perfusions are currently analyzed for a variety of novel biomarkers.
Summary Hannes Vietzen
Evaluation of the human Cytomegalovirus and NK-cell dependent Antibody Mediated Rejection in Lung-Transplant Recipients
In the Research Platform Transplantation-funded start-up project Evaluation of the Human Cytomegalovirus and NK Cell-Dependent Antibody-Mediated Rejection in Lung-Transplant Recipients, we analyzed the contribution of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-specific imprint on the human Natural Killer (NK) cell repertoire on the development of antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR). HCMV is a highly prevalent pathogen, whose replication is associated with an increased risk for graft rejection, an unabated challenge for long-term graft survival in solid organ recipients. Using a genetic association approach and subsequent in vitro antibody-dependent NK cell activation experiments, we demonstrated that the risk for developing ABMR in lung transplant recipients significantly depends on the infecting HCMV strain, which subsequently has a major influence on the imprint on the human NK cell repertoire. In transplant patients with ABMR, we identified HCMV strains that lead to a shift of the human NK cell repertoire towards a highly pro-inflammatory and cytotoxic phenotype characterized by highly active CD16+NKG2C+ NK cells. Our study thus contributes to the understanding of the pathogenesis of AMBR and may help to identify LTRs for ABMR.