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Thymic function is a major determinant of onset of antibody‐mediated rejection in heart transplantation
Author(s) -
Sannier A.,
Stroumza N.,
Caligiuri G.,
Le BorgneMoynier M.,
Andreata F.,
Senemaud J.,
Louedec L.,
Even G.,
Gaston A. T.,
Deschildre C.,
Couvelard A.,
Ou P.,
Cheynier R.,
Nataf P.,
Dorent R.,
Nicoletti A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
american journal of transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1600-6143
pISSN - 1600-6135
DOI - 10.1111/ajt.14595
Subject(s) - medicine , thymectomy , heart transplantation , antibody , endomyocardial biopsy , transplantation , immunology , biopsy , pathology , myasthenia gravis
Thymic function decreases progressively with age but may be boosted in certain circumstances. We questioned whether heart transplantation was such a situation and whether thymic function was related to the onset of rejection. Twenty‐eight antithymocyte globulin–treated heart transplant recipients were included. Patients diagnosed for an antibody‐mediated rejection on endomyocardial biopsy had a higher proportion of circulating recent thymic emigrant CD 4+ T cells and T cell receptor excision circle levels than other transplanted subjects. Thymus volume and density, assessed by computed tomography in a subset of patients, was also higher in patients experiencing antibody‐mediated rejection. We demonstrate that thymic function is a major determinant of onset of antibody‐mediated rejection and question whether thymectomy could be a prophylactic strategy to prevent alloimmune humoral responses.