Explore the latest research on kidney transplant rejection, focusing on microvascular inflammation and its impact on patient outcomes.

Kidney transplant rejection is one of the major issues that hinders graft survival in the recipient. This is due to the microvascular inflammation in the small blood vessels (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The Clinical Significance of Microvascular Inflammation after Kidney Transplantation

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This type of inflammation is complicated and poses a major challenge in clinical practice. To address this issue, the international Banff classification has updated its guidelines on antibody-mediated rejection diagnostics.

Microvascular Inflammation in Kidney Transplantation

They have introduced two new categories of microvascular inflammation: mild microvascular inflammation linked to antibody-mediated rejection and microvascular inflammation without antibody-mediated rejection.

The new research has found key insights into newly defined rejection entities in kidney transplantation that may offer improved patient risk categorization post-transplant. The research will be presented at ASN Kidney Week 2024 October 23– 27.

In a landmark study analyzing more than 16,000 biopsies from almost 7,000 kidney transplant recipients, researchers found that many cases initially considered as non-rejection were reclassified into the newly defined categories of microvascular inflammation.

Risks of Microvascular Inflammation in Kidney Transplants

Importantly, reclassified patients with microvascular inflammation in the absence of antibody-mediated responses displayed an increased risk of graft failure compared with those without signs of rejection, underscoring the importance of this new classification.

“Recognizing these phenotypes could improve risk stratification and support more personalized management for kidney transplant patients,” explains first author, Aurélie Sannier, pathologist and researcher at the Paris Institute for Transplantation and Organ Regeneration. “We encourage large studies in other organ transplants where microvascular inflammation is also a critical feature of antibody-mediated rejection.”

1. The Clinical Significance of Microvascular Inflammation after Kidney Transplantation – (https://www.asn-online.org/about/press/releases/ASN_PR_20241024_Sannier10.17FINAL.pdf)

Source-Eurekalert