Analysis of the Application of Regulatory Dendritic Cells in Kidney Transplantation

Kidney transplantation (KT_x) is the optimum therapy for end-stage renal diseases. However, long-term usage of immunosuppressive agents results in various toxicities and side effects, which has been a major obstacle for recipients. How to reduce the dosages of immunosuppressive agents has become a problem that desperately needs to be solved. Among potential methods, cell therapy has great potential, and regulatory dendritic cells (DC_reg) have attracted special attention for their tolerogenic ability. Currently, some DC-based clinical trials are ongoing or have been completed at several research centers, including an immune tolerance trial in KT_x named “The One Study”, in which autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and stimulated with low doses of GM-CSF or immunosuppressive agents. DC_reg generated with different induction methods or from different cell sources may function in different ways in different organs. After surgery, kidney allografts become the focus of attacks by the immune system and form a specific immune microenvironment. Can DC_reg successfully induce immune tolerance in KT_x recipients? In the present manuscript, we comprehensively analyzed the potential of DC_reg in KT_x from the perspective of kidney immunology.

Keywords: Regulatory dendritic cells (DC_reg); Kidney transplantation; Cell therapy

Abbreviations: DCs: Dendritic Cells; DC_reg: Regulatory Dendritic Cells; KT_x: Kidney Transplantation; HLA-G: Human Leukocyte Differentiation Antigen; PD-L: Programmed Death-Ligand; mDCs: Myeloid DCs; PDCs: Plasmacytoid DCs