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REVIEW ARTICLE |
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Year : 2001 |
Volume
: 12 | Issue : 1 | Page
: 32-41 |
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Monitoring Immune Responses in Organ Recipients by Flow Cytometry
Zuha Al-Mukhalafi, Robert Pyle, Khaled Al-Hussein
Department of Biological and Medical Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Khaled Al-Hussein Department of Biological and Medical Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, MBC-03, P.O. Box 3354, Riyadh 11211 Saudi Arabia
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PMID: 18209358
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Allograft rejection remains a major barrier to successful organ transplantation. Cellular and humoral immune responses play a critical role in mediating graft rejection. During the last few years, monoclonal antibodies have been used as a new specific therapeutic approach in the prevention of allograft rejection. Recently, the technology of flow cytometry has become a useful tool for monitoring immunological responses in transplant recipients. The application of this valuable tool in clinical transplantation at the present time is aimed at, i) determining the extent of immunosuppressive therapy through T-cell receptor analysis of cellular components, ii) monitoring levels of alloreactive antibodies to identify high-risk recipients (sensitized patients) in the pre-operative period and iii) to predict rejection by monitoring their development postoperatively. In future, further development of this technology may demonstrate greater benefit to the field of organ transplantation. |
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