RESCuE Transplant
Research type
Research Study
Full title
RESCuE Transplant (defining phenotypes of T REgulatory cells and their ability to Suppress memory responses in patients with Chronic antibody mediated rEjection after kidney Transplantation)
IRAS ID
330762
Contact name
Sapna Shah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 6 days
Research summary
Chronic rejection is when the immune system of a kidney transplant recipient attacks the transplanted kidney. This is most common cause of late kidney transplant failure and currently, there are no effective treatment options for these patients.
Antibodies are proteins made by our blood to attack foreign substances that enter our bodies. The presence of antibodies in the transplanted patient that attack the donor organ are known as donor specific antibodies (DSA). Studies show that DSAs can lead to chronic rejection in some but not all patients after kidney transplantation. Why are some patients more at risk of chronic rejection? From previous studies, it seems likely that immunological memory responses which control DSA formation are involved.
The aim of this study is to define these memory responses in patients with DSA and chronic rejection and compare them to those with DSA but no chronic rejection by scientific analyses of their white blood cells. We expect to find differences in the regulatory white cells that control the production of DSA.
The second aim of the study is to demonstrate that the regulatory white cells which reduce DSA formation, can be expanded in the laboratory.
The third aim is to observe whether adding the expanded regulatory white cells into blood samples of patients with chronic rejection can reduce the inflammation caused by DSA and lead to improved survival of their kidney transplant.
This may result in fewer patients returning back to dialysis and requiring re-transplantation, giving them a better quality of life.
The recruitment of the study will be conducted between 3 different hospital sites- King's College Hospital, Guys Hospital and Imperial College Healthcare Trust. Once patients are recruited and consented, we will collect blood samples for these patients, which will all be processed at the James Black Centre (King's College London University).
REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/PR/1182
Date of REC Opinion
1 Oct 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion