PubMed1992
Despite the absence of anti-HLA antibodies (Ab) about 10 to 20 percent of renal transplants are lost during the first months from rejection. The role of humoral rejection seems more likely than cellular rejection since they do not respond to standard anti-rejection therapy. We studied 37 patients who rejected their graft despite negative T and B lymphocytes cross-match during the first eight months (m: 59 days, range: 2-240) following kidney transplantation. These patients were compared with 57 patients who experienced a favorable outcome. The sera were tested for the presence of Ab against epidermis of a panel of 5 normal skins and against an epithelial-endothelial hybrid cell line (EA hy 926, Dr C.J.S. Edgell), expressing both endothelial and epithelial antigens. Among the 37 patients who rejected theirs grafts, 8 had anti-keratinocytes Ab, 11 had Ab against epithelial-endothelial hybrid cell line, 9 were positive for both tests. Among the 8 pts who lost their graft before 25 days, 5 were positive for at least our test. Conversely, 7 among the 57 pts with favorable outcome had Ab: 2 against keratinocytes, 5 against hybrid cell line. These data suggest that non anti-HLA Ab may play a role in graft rejection. Furthermore the detection of such Ab prior to transplantation may predict patients at risk of severe rejection. In such cases, plasma exchanges may be proposed if they develop steroid-resistant rejection.