title: Essential concept of transplant immunology for clinical practice.
abstract: Our understanding of transplant immunology has advanced from gross allograft rejection to cellular response and to current molecular level. More sensitive assays have been developed to characterize patient sensitization and to detect pre-existing donor-specific antibodies (DSA) in pre-transplant crossmatch. After a transplant, pre-existing or de novo DSA are increasingly monitored to guide clinical management. Therefore, it is important for clinicians to understand the basic concepts and key components of transplant immunology as well as be familiarized with the modern immunological techniques used in kidney transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Damodar Kumbala, Rubin Zhang, Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States.
authors.forename: Damodar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kumbala
authors.affiliation: Damodar Kumbala, Rubin Zhang, Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, United States.
authors.forename: Rubin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Alloimmune response; Co-stimulation pathway; Crossmatch; Donor specific antibody; Human leukocyte antigens; Major histocompatibility complex; Non-human leukocyte antigens antibody; Panel reactive antibody