Depletion, Repopulation and Tolerance in Sensitized Recipients

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ABSTRACT – Project 2 (Knechtle, Project Lead) While perioperative immune cell depletion with either polyclonal antibody or alemtuzumab is used in the majority of renal transplants in the U.S., our lab has shown in both humans and non-human primates (NHP) that homeostatic repopulation following depletion is associated with B cell activation, elevated BAFF levels, and de novo donor-specific alloantibody (DSA). We have also shown that Belatacept is capable of suppressing such DSA in NHP following depletion. Recently, we have shown in a presensitized NHP model that blockade of CD28 and CD154 in combination with proteasome inhibition substantially lowers alloantibody levels pre-transplant, disrupting germinal centers and lowering plasma cell numbers. However, depletion of plasma cells by proteasome inhibition alone is also associated with germinal center and Tfh cell activation. Thus, depletion of immune cells leads to both beneficial and deleterious consequences with respect to tolerance. This project seeks to define the elements of immune cell depletion in sensitized hosts that foster tolerance. We believe that lymphocyte and plasma cell depletion and subsequent homeostatic repopulation present both an opportunity to shape the alloreactive immune repertoire to favor tolerance, and a risk to disrupt regulation, ignite viral infection and induce activation of alloreactive clones. We hypothesize that the consequences of immune cell depletion in sensitized hosts create compensatory responses by the immune system that are predictable and need to be therapeutically controlled to promote tolerance. To explore this hypothesis, we propose 3 specific aims: 1) To develop safer and more effective means to lower the amount and number of allospecific antibodies, plasma cells, and memory B cells that prevent allotransplantation using proteasome inhibition together with complementary adjuvant therapies prior to renal transplantation; 2) To reshape the immune repertoire using depletion, donor-specific transfusion, and rapamycin to promote regulation, AICD, and pro-tolerant homeostatic repopulation in the sensitized recipient; and 3) To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Belatacept with and without Rapamycin as components of post-transplant immunosuppressive regimens promoting long-term survival of renal allografts following desensitization therapy as described in SA1 and 2 above.