Semin Plast Surg 2007; 21(4): 213-225
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-991191
© Thieme Medical Publishers

Past, Present, and Future Prospects for Inducing Donor-Specific Transplantation Tolerance for Composite Tissue Allotransplantation

Larry D. Bozulic1 , Warren C. Breidenbach2 , Suzanne T. Ildstad1
  • 1Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, Louisville, Kentucky
  • 2Kleinert, Kutz, and Associates Hand Care Center, PLLC, Louisville, Kentucky
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Publication History

Publication Date:
27 November 2007 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) is among the most immunologically complex and newest transplant fields. Although the field has made considerable advances, there are still concerns that these procedures are performed to enhance quality-of-life issues and are not lifesaving procedures that restore physiologic function. Two challenges limit the widespread application of CTA; the first is chronic rejection, the most prevailing cause of organ allograft failure after transplantation; the second barrier is the numerous health complications associated with lifelong immunosuppressive therapy. Several tolerance-inducing strategies, including costimulatory blockade, T-cell depletion, mixed chimerism, and gene targeting of transplanted organs, have the potential to induce lifelong tolerance to organ allografts without chronic immunosuppression. Effective clinical tolerance protocols that improve CTA acceptance and offer an alternative to the requirement for chronic immunosuppressive therapy could be a major advance in the field. Tolerance would allow allotransplantation to provide a currently unmet need for reconstruction of large tissue defects. This article reviews the history of CTA, current challenges and complications, and offers future directions for CTA research in strategies to induce tolerance.

REFERENCES

Suzanne T IldstadM.D. 

Director, Institute for Cellular Therapeutics, Jewish Hospital Distinguished Professor of Transplantation, Professor of Surgery

570 S. Preston Street, Suite 404, Louisville, KY 40202-1760