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Orthotopic Aortic Transplantation: A Rat Model to Study the Development of Chronic Vasculopathy
Published on: December 4, 2010
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy--a changing perspective
1Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Insights
Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a complex condition involving multiple factors. Future therapies aim to modify both the donor organ and the recipient
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Immunology
- Transplantation Science
Background:
- Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a significant long-term complication after heart transplantation.
- It is characterized by diffuse intimal thickening and graft dysfunction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the multifactorial nature of Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV).
- To identify key therapeutic targets for preventing and treating CAV.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent clinical and basic studies on CAV.
- Analysis of contributing factors including fibrosis, arteritis, and atheroma.
Main Results:
- CAV is regulated by interacting forces at different stages of the disease process.
- Three primary forms of vasculopathy—fibrosis, arteritis, and atheroma—contribute to graft vascular disease.
Conclusions:
- Current CAV therapies must address both alloantigen-dependent and independent factors.
- Future strategies should involve donor manipulation (reducing antigenicity/ischemia) and recipient manipulation (donor-specific immune response modulation).
Abstract:
Together, recent clinical and basic studies show that Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is multifactorial and regulated by interacting forces at different stages. Data show that at least three forms of vasculopathy (fibrosis, arteritis, atheroma) contribute to the thickening of graft vascular disease. Current therapy to prevent or treat CAV should focus on control of both alloantigen dependent and independent forces. In the future, therapies will be targeted at manipulation of the donor (to reduce antigenicity and ischemic injury) as well as manipulation of the recipient to attenuate or permanently interrupt the immune responses in a donor specific manner.
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