Russian scientists have discovered a way to suppress rejection during transplantation

Russian Science Foundation informsthat scientists of the First St. Petersburg State Medical University named after IP Pavlov have developed an alternative way to deal with tissue rejection during transplantation without the use of steroids.

The fact is that half of bone marrow stem cell transplantation for oncology therapy ends in rejection. This is not quite like classic organ rejection, as the donor T-lymphocytes attack the patient’s tissues.

Such operations can be fatal after some time after the operation – at first, only the skin and digestive system of the patient suffer, but over time, the entire body is under attack. To avoid this scenario, doctors use corticosteroids, but this method also has huge risks – such drugs can cause diabetes, cataracts, and even cancer recurrence.

However, St. Petersburg scientists have developed a new method of dealing with rejection. So, instead of steroids, experts suggest using calcineurin inhibitors, which suppress the activity of elements that trigger an “attack” by donor T-lymphocytes.

Doctors tested the new method on patients aged 18 to 67 who received bone marrow stem cell transplants, including those with a reduced number of T cells. The patients were then treated with the antitumor cyclophosphamide, which suppresses the rejection of donor cells, which is a common procedure for cancer treatment. But when patients showed signs of immunological conflict, scientists prescribed a patented treatment with calcineurin inhibitors.

Subsequent observations have shown that calcineurin inhibitor therapy is effective in 80% of patients with chronic syndrome (moderate and severe) and 47% with acute syndrome.

Two years after the start of therapy, patient survival was 95% and 76% for each of the groups.

In the future, scientists plan to conduct another series of tests on volunteers – more massive. This will help specialists to introduce a new method of transplantation therapy as a mass treatment.