Lung Transplant Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Lung Transplant, including details on risks, prognosis, procedure, surgery, organ donation.

Hypothesis: epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is a common cause of chronic allograft failure.

Ward C, Robertson H, Forrest IA, Lordan J, Murphy D, Dark JH, Corris PA, Jones DE, Kirby JA

Applied Immunobiology and Transplantation Research Group, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical School, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. chris.ward@ncl.ac.uk

Renal, hepatic, and lung allografts are compromised by aggressively deteriorating function. This chronic process is produced by an overall burden of organ damage, but the pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Rates of chronic rejection in the lung, for example, have not substantially improved over the last decade, despite new immunosuppressive drugs and improvements in surgical procedure. We present a hypothesis that epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition is a common cause of chronic allograft failure. Research in this area may provide insights into chronic rejection of kidney, liver, and lung allografts that impact on future therapeutic strategies.

Published 25 April 2005 in Transplant Proc, 37(2): 977-80.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Lung Transplant Research Today. All Rights Reserved.