Marcos López Hoyos
Scientific Director of the Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) and Professor of Immunology at the University of Cantabria
This is a very relevant article from a phase 1a/2 trial to look at the clinical utility and immunological monitoring of patients who have received tolerogenic dendritic cells. The use of these cells as a mechanism to induce tolerance (acceptance of the transplanted graft) and reduce the burden of immunosuppression, which causes numerous long-term adverse effects, has been the 'holy grail' in organ transplantation for decades.
This study demonstrates in a series of 16 liver transplant patients the beneficial effect of this treatment. It shows this at the level of safety and through the study of immune cell populations, not only in blood but also in the liver graft, which is where the immune response really takes place. They show a reduction of cells, such as natural killer and CD8+ T cells, with the capacity to cause graft rejection up to one year post-transplant follow-up.
The data support the clinical use of these immune rejection regulatory or suppressor cells in liver transplantation.