title: Drug immunosuppression therapy for adult heart transplantation. Part 1: immune response to allograft and mechanism of action of immunosuppressants.
abstract: In the early days of transplantation, immunosuppression therapy was rather broad and nonspecific, mainly using high-dose corticosteroids and azathioprine. Thereafter we progressively narrowed the target of immunosuppressive strategy starting with polyclonal antibodies. The introduction of cyclosporine, OKT3, and tacrolimus further narrowed the target on the T-cell pathways. More recently mycophenolate mofetil progressively took the place of azathioprine with its higher lymphocyte specificity and sirolimus and interleukin-2 receptor antibodies were introduced. In this field in constant movement the aim is to find a drug or a regimen that provides optimal immunosuppression therapy with minimal side effects, in other words to find the right balance between overimmunosuppression and underimmunosuppression therapy. This review is divided into two parts. The first part will provide a basic understanding of the immunologic response to allograft and explain how conventional and recently introduced immunosuppressive agents work. The second part will describe the clinical application of immunosuppressive drugs to provide practical information for those in charge of heart transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. xavier.mueller@usherbrooke.ca
authors.forename: Xavier M
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Mueller
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000906:Antibodies / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001379:Azathioprine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D065095:Calcineurin Inhibitors; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020123:Sirolimus / Q000494:pharmacology; D014181:Transplantation Immunology
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000906:Antibodies; D065095:Calcineurin Inhibitors; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D009173:Mycophenolic Acid; D001379:Azathioprine; D020123:Sirolimus