Improving Graft Acceptance in Lung Transplantation by Donor-specific Blood Transfusion

Lung transplantation is the ultimate treatment for patients with end-stage pulmonary disease, the survival of which is hindered by chronic lung allograft dysfunction. The classic immunosuppressive protocol, nonspecifically blocking immune reaction, also causes complications such as nephrotoxicity, infection, and cancer. Donor-specific blood transfusion is an efficient strategy to promote graft acceptance under reduced immunosuppression. The safety and efficacy have been validated in pre-clinical and clinical research models of the heart and intestinal transplantation. However, the specific mechanism of how donor-specific blood transfusion takes its protective effect on recipients has not yet been identified. Furthermore, no animal model was developed for donor-specific blood transfusion experiments in lung transplantation. In this project, we aim firstly to establish a new mice model of donor-specific blood transfusion in lung transplantation, and secondly to clarify its effect and mechanism. We hypothesize that the mice model is suitable for donor-specific blood transfusion research in lung transplantation, and the donor-specific blood transfusion will result in a better acceptance of the lung graft in a setting of minimized immunosuppression.