Zheng Zhang, Caroline Markmann, Ming Yu, Divyansh Agarwal, Susan Rostami, Wei Wang, Chengyang Liu, Huiwu Zhao, Trini Ochoa, Kalpana Parvathaneni, Xiaoming Xu, Eric Li, Vanessa Gonzalez, Roman Khadka, Jennifer Hoffmann, James J Knox, John Scholler, Brooke Marcellus, David Allman, Joseph A Fraietta, Benjamin Samelson-Jones, Michael C Milone, Dimitri Monos, Alfred L Garfall, Ali Naji, Vijay G Bhoj
Pre-existing anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allo-antibodies constitute a major barrier to transplantation. Current desensitization approaches fail due to ineffective depletion of allo-specific memory B cells (Bmems) and long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs). We evaluate the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 and B cell maturation antigen (BCMA) to eliminate allo-antibodies in a skin pre-sensitized murine model of islet allo-transplantation. We find that treatment of allo-sensitized hosts with CAR T cells targeting Bmems and LLPCs eliminates donor-specific allo-antibodies (DSAs) and mitigates hyperacute rejection of subsequent islet allografts...
December 19, 2023: Cell reports medicine