Newer therapeutic interventions for pulmonary transplant rejection

Rejection of the lung allograft remains a significant problem and the primary cause of morbidity and mortality for the transplant recipient. Various strategies have been developed to prevent and minimize episodes of rejection. These methods involve either specific inhibitors or using a combination of barriers at precise sites in the immune response to induce graft tolerance. Another technique would be to create a tranquil environment between opposing populations of immunocompetent cells from both the donor and recipient by enhancing chimerism. Finding potent immunosuppressive agents is not the only impediment to prolonged graft survival. The challenge is also to develop techniques and agents that do not have global immunosuppressive properties that would cause the host to become more susceptible to infectious agents, as well as to prevent toxicity to other vital organs. A review of available new pharmaceutical therapies and an overview of potential future methods are presented here.