, 1998). The Trojan horse mechanism of transport across BBB is considered to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of viral meningitis in the late phase of AIDS. This model has gained rapid favor; however, recent studies change this model by showing that the vast majority of virions transmitted in trans originate from the plasma membrane rather than from intracellular vesicles (Cavrois et al., 2008). The mechanisms of BBB disruption during retroviral-associated pathologies are not fully understood yet. Most of the studies are focused on the effect

of soluble molecules secreted by infected lymphocytes on BBB functions and intercellular TJ organization. In case of HIV infection, the viral protein Tat has been shown to induce cell apoptosis and disruption of the TJs (Andras et al., 2003). In short, Tat-mediated downregulation BMS-777607 cell line of claudin-5 plays an important role in altered integrity of BMEC that aids viral transport across BBB (Andras et al., 2005). West Nile virus (WNV)-associated encephalitis is characterized by disruption of the BBB, enhanced infiltration of immune cells into the CNS, microglial activation, inflammation, and eventual loss of neurons (Glass et al., 2005; Sitati et al., 2007). WNV gains entry into the CNS via the transcellular pathway, without compromising

the BBB integrity instead AZD1208 cell line of paracellular pathway (Verma et al., 2009). Tick-borne encephalitis

(TBE) virus causes severe encephalitis with serious sequel in humans. The mechanisms underlying how TBEV gains access to the CNS are not completely elucidated. There are several hypothetical routes for TBEV traversal across BBB. These include (i) cytokine-mediated BBB breakdown, (ii) “Trojan horse” theory, and (iii) viral entry into the BMECs, transcytosis, and the release of virus into the brain parenchyma (Ruzek et al., 2011). Proteins from microbial pathogens are the dominant virulence factors mediating entrance to the CNS; however, various nonproteinous microbial components including lipopolysaccharide, LTA, glycolipids, and hyaluronic acid contribute to breakdown of the BBB. Lipooligosaccharide on the outer membrane is an important inflammatory agent Liothyronine Sodium in the CSF. Recent studies have demonstrated that lipooligosaccharide and lipopolysaccharide containing outer membrane vesicles provoke meningeal inflammation, increase concentration of leukocytes, and change permeability of the BBB (Cope et al., 1990). Hyaluronic acid of C. neoformans capsule facilitates the transport via BBB (Jong et al., 2007). Several hyaluronic acid receptors have been identified on various ECs; however, the only receptor on BMEC interacting with hyaluronic acid is CD44, the most common hyaluronic acid receptor in vertebrates. This interaction initiates the events of the entry at the BMEC membrane rafts (Jong et al., 2008).

The AnnexinV stainings reveal that while Myc is necessary for cell cycling, Pim1 allows survival of these proliferating cells. This finding agrees with the previous reports, which indicate that Pim1 is a co-activator Selleckchem Anti-infection Compound Library of Myc and cooperates by an anti-apoptotic action to enhance Myc-driven cell proliferation in a proB-cell line 19 and a human embryonic kidney cell line 22. Verbeek et al. 18 found that Eμ-Pim1/Myc-double-transgenic mice develop a dramatic

prenatal expansion of pre-B cells and early B cells in liver and spleen, but not in BM, Peyer’s patches and lymph nodes. Transplantation of such expanding pre-B- and early B cells from peripheral blood of the double-transgenic mice resulted in the outgrowth of lymphomas within 9 weeks. After transplantation, MLN8237 datasheet our Pim1/Myc-double-transduced pre-B cells show a population and expansion of pre-B cells comparable to that in Eμ Myc/Pim1 mice also in spleen, LNs and peritoneum upon overexpression of Pim1 and Myc for 4-8 weeks. This cellular expansion was completely reversible upon removal of doxycycline. Hence, additional rare transforming events had no measurable effects on the proliferative expansion of the oncogene-transduced

pre-B cells within the 2 months in the presence of doxycycline after transplantation. If such additional transforming events had occurred in the in vitro or in vivo expanding pre-B- and immature B cells, they either did not become independent of the actions of Pim1 and Myc, or were too rare to become manifest within the two months in vivo. Recently, it has been shown that even in established tumors, constitutive expression of specific oncogenes (and especially Myc) is crucial for tumor survival 30, 31. In contrast to pre-BI cells, which started to propagate in the transplanted host mice upon overexpression of Pim1 and

Myc, in vivo matured sIgM+ B cells in transplanted host mice were not able to expand in vivo upon overexpression of Pim1 and Myc. This suggests that the resting, mature B-cell pools are unaffected by the overexpression of Pim1 and Myc. Even upon ex vivo stimulation of purified IgM+ or CD19+ splenic B cells with polyclonal B-cell activators, proliferation remained limited, regardless of whether Pim1/Myc were before overexpressed or not. This finding rules out the possibility that the mature B cells need an external trigger (such as activation) to enter the cell cycle before overexpression of Myc and Pim1 can maintain cell cycling and enhance survival. Therefore, the capability of B-lineage cells to proliferate in response to Pim1 and Myc overexpression seems to be restricted to a window of B-cell development from pre-BI to immature B cells. It remains to be investigated whether the transformability by Pim1 and Myc extends into earlier stages of hematopoietic development.

Our center participated in a randomized, multi-center trial comparing sotrastaurin and the calcineurin inhibitor neoral in de novo renal transplant recipients [15]. We conducted an ex vivo study on patient samples (stage 1 phase) to investigate the frequency and function of FoxP3+CD4+CD25high T cells. We also performed in vitro functional studies on samples of blood bank volunteers to study the different effects of sotrastaurin on T effector and regulatory cells. Twenty-one patients were randomized to receive either sotrastaurin 300 mg twice daily (n = 14) or neoral [starting dose 4 mg/kg/day, aimed trough levels 100–200 ng/ml (month 1), 75–150 ng/ml (months 2–3), 50–100 ng/ml (months 4–5) and 25–50 ng/ml

(months 6–12), n = 7] 1 day after living (un)related de novo kidney transplantation. This cohort involved PCI-32765 molecular weight all (adult) patients in our center participating in an open-label, multi-centre, randomized Phase II trial [15] (trial number CAEB071A2206, stage 1) (Table 1). Both regimens included steroids, basiliximab [anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody (mAb)] and the mTOR-inhibitor everolimus [starting dose 1·5 mg twice daily, aimed trough levels 4–8 ng/ml)]. Patient blood CHIR-99021 clinical trial samples were collected pre-, 2, 3 and 6 months after transplantation. Blood sampling was approved by the local ethical committee on human research. All patients

gave written informed consent (Medical Ethic Committee number MEC-2007-219). Donor age in years median (range) Type of transplantation LR : LUR HLA mismatch mean ± s.e.m. A: 0·79 (0·15) B: 1·0 (0·21) DR: 1·07 (0·22) A: 0·71 (0·36) B: 0·57 (0·20) DR: 1·0 (0·22) Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patient heparinized blood samples were isolated by density gradient using Ficoll-Paque (density gradient 1077 g/ml).

After isolation the PBMC samples were frozen in 10% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) (Merck, Schuchardt, IMP dehydrogenase Germany) and stored at −140°C until analysis. PBMC from healthy blood bank donors were also isolated and served as control. Neoral infusion (SandImmune®; Novartis Pharma, Switzerland) and sotrastaurin (Novartis Pharma) powder were dissolved in RPMI-1640 (Gibco BRL, Paisley, UK) and DMSO, respectively, and stored at −80°C until use. On the day of the experiment, stock solutions were dissolved in RPMI-1640. Defrosted PBMC were resuspended in cold magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) buffer according to the manufacturer’s protocol (Miltenyi Biotec, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany) and supplemented with 7 μl CD25-microbeads (directed against epitope A of the CD25 molecule; Miltenyi Biotec)/107 PBMCs to isolate the CD25high T cells. After 15 min at 4°C, the cells were washed with MACS buffer and resuspended in 1 ml MACS buffer. Subsequently, the POSSEL-D protocol was performed on the autoMACS (Miltenyi Biotec). The CD4+CD25high population was defined as cells with high CD25 expression with a slightly lower CD4 expression.

Autopsy examination, limited to the intracranial tissues, revealed marked infiltration of IgG4-containing plasma cells in the adventitia and media of the vertebral and basilar arteries. Multiple

fibrous nodules forming pseudotumors were also evident on the outer surface of the affected arteries. These histological features were very similar to those of arteriopathy, such as inflammatory aortic aneurysm, which has been described in patients with IgG4-related disease, suggesting that autoimmune mechanisms, known to be involved in the pathogenesis of visceral lesions in the disease, also played a role in the etiology of VBD in the present patient. In conclusion, we consider that the present case may represent VBD as a manifestation of IgG4-related check details disease. “
“C. B. Carroll, M.-L. Zeissler, C. O. Hanemann and J. P. Zajicek (2012) Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology38, 535–547 Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol

(Δ9-THC) exerts a direct neuroprotective effect in a human cell culture model of Parkinson’s disease Aims:Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) is neuroprotective in models of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although CB1 receptors are increased within the Selleckchem Gefitinib basal ganglia of PD patients and animal models, current evidence suggests a role for CB1 receptor-independent mechanisms. Here, we utilized a human neuronal cell culture PD model to further investigate the protective properties of Δ9-THC. Methods: Differentiated SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells were exposed to PD-relevant Metformin price toxins: 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), lactacystin and paraquat. Changes in CB1 receptor level were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Cannabinoids and modulatory compounds

were co-administered with toxins for 48 h and the effects on cell death, viability, apoptosis and oxidative stress assessed. Results: We found CB1 receptor up-regulation in response to MPP+, lactacystin and paraquat and a protective effect of Δ9-THC against all three toxins. This neuroprotective effect was not reproduced by the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 or blocked by the CB1 antagonist AM251. Furthermore, the antioxidants α-tocopherol and butylhydroxytoluene as well as the antioxidant cannabinoids, nabilone and cannabidiol were unable to elicit the same neuroprotection as Δ9-THC. However, the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ) antagonist T0070907 dose-dependently blocked the neuroprotective, antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of Δ9-THC, while the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone resulted in protection from MPP+-induced neurotoxicity. Furthermore, Δ9-THC increased PPARγ expression in MPP+-treated SH-SY5Y cells, another indicator of PPARγ activation.

72–75 Reduced megalin expression leading to impaired receptor-mediated endocytosis is responsible for increased excretion of low molecular weight proteins.76 The carcinogenicity of AA is related to the strong affinity of AA metabolites for the exocyclic amino group of DNA. In vitro studies have shown that

the NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase, cytochrome P450 1A1/2, NADPH:CYP reductase and cyclooxygenase are responsible for activating AA.68,77–79 Upon binding to the adenine residues, AA induces specific AT TA transversion mutations leading to activation of H-ras and overexpression of p53.80,81 This ‘signature mutation’ is not seen in other types of urological malignancies. Elimination of AA involves oxidative conversion of AAI to AA Ia followed by reduction to N-hydroxyaristolactam Ibrutinib Ia. Both AAIa and aristolactam Ia are excreted through the kidneys either as such or as glucuronide, acetate or sulfate conjugate. This pathway is responsible for loss of toxicity and has been dubbed the ‘detoxification pathway’ (Fig. 1).68,82 The enzymes involved in this pathway belong to the cytochrome P450 system.83,84 Cytochrome P450 reductase-null mice exhibit slower AA clearance and higher AAI levels in the kidney and liver.84

Using specific inhibitors of the various components of the CYP family, Sistkova et al.83 found that conversion to AAIa in human hepatic microsome preparations was attributable Deforolimus ic50 to CYP1A. Why not all individuals exposed to AA develop kidney disease or tumours is not known. Postulations include difference

in the dose of ingested AA, degree of absorption BCKDHB and simultaneous consumption of other compounds that potentiate or mitigate AA toxicity by interfering with enzyme activity. Recent work suggests that variation in genes encoding these enzymes may determine individual susceptibility. An increased risk of BEN was shown in individuals who had a G allele at 6989 position of the CYP3A5 gene.85NQO1*2 mutation affected the risk of development of malignancies.85 Better understanding of these pathways might allow us to develop novel strategies to limit or even reverse the toxicities. Such strategies might include decreasing drug accumulation by downregulating transporters; accelerating metabolism or blocking activation by using specific enzyme inducers or inhibitors; modulation of the major effector pathways, for example inhibition of the pro-apoptotic or upregulation of the anti-apoptotic molecules, alteration of calcium efflux, modulation of NO generation; and using growth factors to stimulate regeneration or using molecules to inhibit enzymes that cause tissue destruction (matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)) or fibrosis (TGF-β).

Thus, transcriptome profiles, TCR repertoire analysis, as well as analysis of neuropilin-1 expression, indicate that Treg cells in the gut are quite different compared with Treg cells at other sites, and, in particular, the gut Treg-cell population is comprised of substantial numbers of iTreg cells besides nTreg cells. It is tempting to speculate that a higher prevalence of iTreg cells in the gut might be due

to the particular intense contact with foreign antigen in that location and, in fact, Treg cells in the LP have been noted to encode TCRs directed against the intestinal microbiota [16]; however, this seemingly straightforward correlation between antigen load and iTreg-cell numbers needs to be tempered by considering the total number of Treg cells in the gut. Although Foxp3+ cells are abundant

in Ixazomib order the gut LP, they are still less frequent as compared with macrophages, plasma cells, and some other T-cell subsets. By carefully counting the number of Treg cells in longitudinal 7 μm ileum cryosections for mice we observed, on average, 0.35 cells per villus (O. Pabst, unpublished observation). We expect this number might vary depending on the housing conditions and intestinal microbiota composition, as both are GSI-IX known to skew the Treg-cell pool in the gut [17, 18]. In any case, the actual number of Treg cells per villus seems too limited, rendering it unlikely that the Treg-cell pool with its TCR specificities might fully cover the complexity of the total antigen load. It is therefore possible that the antigen-driven generation of iTreg cells

does not account for immunoregulation covering the full antigen load but might rather constitute a sophisticated pathway to deal with particularly “problematic” antigens. In vitro, TGF-β and IL-2 are sufficient to induce expression of Foxp3 in a substantial eltoprazine fraction of activated CD4+ T cells [19] and this fraction can be further increased by the addition of retinoic acid (RA) [20]. TGF-β and RA have also been suggested to enable iTreg-cell generation following antigen administration through the oral route [21, 22]. One commonly used experimental setup to quantify Treg-cell conversion in the intestinal immune system involves the adoptive transfer of TCR-transgenic Foxp3− T cells to recipient mice. Subsequent antigen feeding results in T-cell activation and proliferation, and the formation of a sizable number of Foxp3+ T cells (Fig. 1) [3, 21, 23]. In the gut-draining mesenteric lymph nodes (mLNs), this frequency is considerably higher as compared with that of other lymphoid compartments. Such a high capacity to generate iTreg cells could be recapitulated in vitro by stimulating Foxp3− cells via “intestinal” DCs, that is, DCs isolated from mLNs or intestinal LP, but not those from pLNs or splenic DCs [21, 24].

The interfoot process gap length was measured from electron microscopic images. Diabetic duration correlated best with the area ratio of podocin and CD2AP (r = 0.626), followed by other protein combinations, showing progressive change in the slit diaphragm structure. C-peptide-treatment did not alter area ratios. The interfoot process gap length was wider in diabetic rats (p < 0.05) and did not narrow with C-peptide-treatment in either control or diabetic rats (both p < 0.05). Diabetes widened the interfoot process gap length and distorted the slit diaphragm structure progressively and heterogeneously in rats with early diabetes; click here this was not altered by C-peptide-treatment. The nephroprotective effect

of C-peptide in decreasing selleck the glomerular filtration rate appears to be functional rather than

structural. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. “
“The present study was designed to evaluate whether CP was beneficial in alleviating myocardial fibrosis following I/R injury. Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to 30 minutes occlusion of the LADCA, followed by reperfusion. CP (0.4 or 0.8 g/kg) was daily administered starting from three hour after reperfusion until day 6. Coronary venular diameter, RBC velocity, albumin leakage, MBF, heart function, myocardial infarction and fibrosis size, myocardium ultrastructure, MPO activity, and MDA level Clomifene were evaluated. The expression of MCP-1, RP S19, TGF-β1, P-Smad3, Smad4, MMP-9 and α-SMA, and the infiltration of leukocytes were examined. CP post-treatment ameliorated I/R-induced myocardial RBC velocity reduction, MBF decrease, cardiac dysfunction, and albumin leakage increase. Moreover, myocardial infarction and fibrosis size, MPO activity, MDA level, the expression of RP S19, TGF-β1, P-Smad3, Smad4, MMP-9 and α-SMA, the number of CD68-positive cells increased significantly after I/R, and myocardium collagen deposition was observed on day 6 after reperfusion. All the alterations after

I/R were significantly ameliorated by CP. Post-treatment with CP ameliorates I/R-induced myocardial fibrosis, suggesting that CP may be applied as an option for preventing cardiac remodeling after I/R injury. “
“The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that exercise training enhances sustained relaxation to persistent endothelium-dependent vasodilator exposure via increased nitric oxide contribution in small coronary arteries of control and ischemic hearts. Yucatan swine were designated to a control group or a group in which an ameroid constrictor was placed around the proximal LCX. Subsequently, pigs from both groups were assigned to exercise (five days/week; 16 weeks) or SED regimens. Coronary arteries (~100–350 μm) were isolated from control pigs and from both nonoccluded and collateral-dependent regions of chronically-occluded hearts.

(2002). Experiments 1 and 2 tested the hypothesis that variability along the contrastive

dimension of voicing helps infants define the phonological categories for the words, while simultaneously eliminating noncontrastive variation that might be expected to impede processing. GS-1101 If true, it might suggest that further development of the internal statistical structure of VOT distributions is necessary for phonological categories to be engaged in this case. We used the same words as Rost and McMurray (2009): /buk/ and /puk/. These differ in voicing, for which VOT is the dominant cue. In the present study, the effects of variability in VOT alone were investigated by training and testing infants using auditory stimuli from a single speaker, but with a VOT distribution as shown in Figure 1c that mirrored distributions in the child’s language as well as the distribution found in the original Rost and McMurray study. This is an important contrast with the work of Maye et al. (2002, 2008), in that our continua spanned a dimension that infants had significant familiarity

with, and used asymetrical (although more natural) distributions. Given Ensartinib cost the purpose of augmenting their natural categories (to explain our prior results), this seemed a better test. If variation in VOT is sufficient to drive learning, then we should observe good word learning using a set of exemplars with this distribution of VOT, and no variation in any of the additional cues present

in multitalker input (e.g., pitch, vowel quality, prosody or timbre). Infants between 13 and 15 months old were recruited from county birth records. Infants were eligible if they were monolingual English learning, with no history of developmental disorder or recurrent ear infection. Twenty-six infants Amobarbital participated; data from 10 were excluded due to their failure to habituate (5), experimenter error (2), fussiness (2), and ear infection (1). Sixteen infants (9 boys; M age = 14 months 4 days, range=13 months 5 days to 14 months 22 days) were included in the final analysis. A female native speaker of the local dialect produced a series of /buk/ and /puk/ tokens in an infant-directed register. In order to create a continuum with sufficient variation we included prevoicing (so that /b/ could be more variable while still being distinct from /p/). Praat (Boersma, 2001) was used for all stimulus manipulation. One /buk/ token was chosen by five adults as being the “best” exemplar, and it was modified to have a VOT of close to 0 msec by cutting the prevoicing. One /puk/ token was chosen as having the most natural aspiration which was longer than 100 msec. From these we constructed a 29-point VOT continuum ranging from −40 to +100 in steps of approximately 5 msec (limited by the availability of splice-points) using the following procedure.

Taken together, ICG-001 these results provide evidence that JWS 833 has

an immune-enhancing effect on mice infected with Listeria and that this effect is remarkably greater than that mediated by LGG. We found that JWS 833 enhances murine immune responses to bacterial infection. Based on these findings, we conducted further experiments to assess whether JWS 833 protects mice after they have been infected with L. monocytogenes. All the mice in the PC and LGG-fed groups died within 150 hrs of being infected with L. monocytogenes at a lethal dose, 1.2 × 105 cfu (Fig. 3). However, administration of JWS 833 strain at 1 × 109 cfu/day reduced the morbidity and mortality caused by L. monocytogenes infection. The immuno-enhancing effects of JWS 833 strain may protect mice, reducing the morbidity and mortality of listeriosis. Thus, our results suggest that JWS 833 isolated from duck intestine is Bafilomycin A1 chemical structure a potential immunomodulator and facilitates suppression

of L. monocytogenes infection. We examined the immune-enhancing properties of JWS 833 isolated from duck intestines by measuring production of NO and inflammatory cytokines in mouse peritoneal macrophages and infected mice. We compared the effects of JWS 833 with those mediated by LGG, a bacterial strain known to have immunomodulatory properties. Our in vitro experiments showed that JWS 833 stimulates production of NO, IL-1β and TNF-α by mouse peritoneal macrophages. This effect was greater tetracosactide than that induced by LGG. We used heat-killed LAB (JWS 833 and LGG) in in vitro experiments to prevent

macrophage cell death caused by bacterial overgrowth and low acid conditions. Heat-killed LAB induce cytokines production by activating macrophages (20, 21) and studies show that heat-killed LGG cells are as effective as viable cells (19). Various studies have reported that LAB protect mice against pathogens. Administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus increases the survival of mice infected with Salmonella Typhimurium (22), and Lactobacillus casei induces resistance to L. monocytogenes infection in mice or rats (23, 24). E. faecium also increases the production of anti-Salmonella antibodies in a Salmonella enterica infection model (25) and enhances the murine immune response to Giardia intestinalis (15). Cheers and Mckenzie reported BALB/c mice were most susceptible to L. monocytogenes (28) and Puertollano et al. (29) and Paturi et al. (30) used BALB/c mice to evaluate immune responses of LAB. We used BALB/c mice in our study because the L. monocytogenes challenge mice model is widely accepted for studies involving cellular immune responses against bacterial infection. In the present study, we used a L. monocytogenes infection model to examine the protective effects of JWS 833 against pathogenic infection by pathogens. L.

We gratefully thank Ikuo Yamaguchi of Toyohashi Municipal Hospital, Masaaki Sasano and Mitsuhiro Hori of Okazaki City Hospital, Kouji Ikezaki, Seiichi Shimizu and Yasunobu Nishiyama of Meijo Hospital, and Nobuko Sato and Hiroko Tsuchiya of Ichinomiya Municipal Hospital for providing S. pyogenes strains.

We thank Slawomir Lukomski for providing LY2157299 molecular weight pFW12 and pSL60-2 plasmids. This study was partially supported by a grant from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. “
“In transplantation, harnessing the immune system is essential for allograft survival and function. This session explores different aspects of the immune system during transplantation, including the effect of donor-specific anti-human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies (DSAs), antibody-mediated rejection (AMR), B cell modulation and the role of immunoglobulin

(Ig) therapy. It is well known that DSAs play a key role in the failure of allografts. Identifying and characterizing DSAs provides information that can aid in risk stratification of transplant recipients. The ability to bind complement provides PD-0332991 supplier additional information regarding the cytotoxic potential of these antibodies and can therefore potentially guide individualized treatment strategies. AMR presents as several phenotypes, which vary in severity. As such, potentially different treatment strategies are required, emphasizing the importance of accurate diagnosis. In patients with elevated anti-HLA antibodies, waiting times for a compatible organ are often prolonged. Desensitization protocols

using intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), in combination with other therapies, have been developed to enhance the availability of compatible donors. Another important aspect of transplantation is the role of B cells. While B cells may be involved in AMR and forms of cellular rejection, there is evidence to suggest that regulatory B cells may also have a positive impact upon long-term graft survival. Hypogammaglobulinaemia (HGG) has been reported after solid organ transplantation and is associated with an increased risk of infections. Monitoring immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels post-transplantation may identify patients at risk for infections who could potentially benefit from pre-emptive treatment with IVIg. Allograft rejection has always been the chief obstacle to GABA Receptor transplantation success. Advances in the field of transplantation have highlighted the harmful effects of donor-specific anti-human leucocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies (DSAs) on allografts, and that chronic graft loss is part of the antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) spectrum. In this paper, a variety of important factors in transplantation are discussed, particularly immune-related features that can be detected or modified to identify high-risk patients and improve allograft survival. Potential applications of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) are also presented. DSAs are known to promote various types of AMR.