title: Influence of HLA-DRW6 in the recipient on occurrence of acute rejection of first renal allografts: beneficial influence of antithymocyte globulin as antirejection treatment.
abstract: In a retrospective analysis of 232 recipients of first cadaveric kidney grafts the percentage of patients without an acute rejection was significantly higher in DRW6-negative than in DRW6-positive patients. This was not reflected in a better graft survival rate. This discrepancy was probably caused by the kind of antirejection treatment used. In DRW6-positive patients who had received RATG as the initial treatment for rejection, graft survival was significantly better than in DRW6-positive recipients treated with high doses of prednisone. In the DRW6-negative patients RATG treatment gave also better results, but here the difference was not significant. These findings show that the negative influence of the DRW6 antigen present in the recipients was counterbalanced by the beneficial effect of RATG-treatment for first rejection episodes. No influence of DR matching could be detected.
mesh_terms: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006084:Graft Rejection; D015808:HLA-DR6 Antigen; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation
chemical_list: D000961:Antilymphocyte Serum; D015808:HLA-DR6 Antigen; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II