Bortezomib as therapy for transplant patients
Scientists at the University of Cincinnati have found a new therapy for transplant patients — by targeting the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection.
They have actually discovered that a cancer drug called bortezomib (which is used for treating multiple myeloma) is very effective in treating rejection episodes caused by antibodies that target transplanted kidneys and reversing rejection episodes that did not respond to standard therapies.
“We found a body of literature demonstrating that bortezomib works well in suppressing transplant rejection in the laboratory,” said Steve Woodle, MD, the leader of the research team and chief of transplant surgery at UC. “Moreover, it worked well in models of autoimmune diseases.”
The research team from UC has been working on this issue since 2005. “It has become clear that plasma cells and the antibodies they produce play a bigger role in rejection than previously thought, and the development of therapies targeting these cells has lagged,” he says. “We realized that current therapies don’t target the plasma cells which may produce the antibody, in general.”
Scientists administered this drug to six kidney transplant recipients with treatment-resistant organ rejection, evaluating and recording their responses to the treatment.
In each case, treatment with the drug provided prompt rejection reversal, prolonged reductions in antibody levels and improved organ function with suppression of recurrent rejection for at least five months.
The research will be published in the journal Transplantation.
Source: uc.edu
