CommunicationModulation of the alloimmune response by blood transfusions
Section snippets
The need for HLA compatibility between blood donor and recipient
After it had been shown that a single pretransplant blood transfusion was sufficient to have a beneficial effect on kidney graft survival, studies were performed to test whether the degree of HLA compatibility between blood donor and patient was relevant for the immunomodulatory effect. Patients transfused with HLA-DR shared blood transfusions showed an enhanced kidney 〚11〛 and heart 〚12〛 transplant survival compared to patients who received HLA-DR mismatched transfusions.
Furthermore, the
Conclusion
Modulation of alloreactivity by blood transfusion may (partly) be due to the induction of regulatory CD4+ T cells. These cells are preferentially induced when the blood donor and recipient share at least an HLA-class II molecule.
Further studies in transplanted patients who have received an HLA-DR shared pretransplant blood transfusion should verify this hypothesis. As HLA class II molecules are only present on subpopulations of leucocytes and not on other blood cells, universal leucocyte
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