B lymphocyte–directed immunotherapy promotes long-term islet allograft survival in nonhuman primates

C Liu, H Noorchashm, JA Sutter, M Naji, EL Prak… - Nature medicine, 2007 - nature.com
C Liu, H Noorchashm, JA Sutter, M Naji, EL Prak, J Boyer, T Green, MR Rickels
Nature medicine, 2007nature.com
We found that an induction immunotherapy regimen consisting of rabbit anti-thymocyte
globulin (Thymoglobulin) and the monoclonal antibody to CD20 rituximab (Rituxan)
promoted long-term islet allograft survival in cynomolgus macaques maintained on
rapamycin monotherapy. B lymphocyte reconstitution after rituximab-mediated depletion
was characterized by a preponderance of immature and transitional cells, whose
persistence was associated with long-term islet allograft survival. Development of donor …
Abstract
We found that an induction immunotherapy regimen consisting of rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (Thymoglobulin) and the monoclonal antibody to CD20 rituximab (Rituxan) promoted long-term islet allograft survival in cynomolgus macaques maintained on rapamycin monotherapy. B lymphocyte reconstitution after rituximab-mediated depletion was characterized by a preponderance of immature and transitional cells, whose persistence was associated with long-term islet allograft survival. Development of donor-specific alloantibodies was abrogated only in the setting of continued rapamycin monotherapy.
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