title: Modulation of alloimmune response by commensal gut microbiota and potential new avenues to influence the outcome of allogeneic transplantation by modification of the 'gut culture'.
abstract: Host defence response against microbial infections was the foundation for the Science of Immunology. Now, we know the mechanisms of such host defence which include innate immune responses that is generally nonspecific but effective in many cases and lead to more specific responses called adaptive immune response. The gene loci of class I, II and III of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a major role in directing the adaptive immune responses by presenting processed antigens to T and B cells to induce appropriate antigen-specific cellular and or humoral immune responses. In humans, these are commonly referred to as human leucocyte antigens class I/II-HLA I/II). The class III region, the gamma region in the MHC complex, is mostly associated with regulation of immune responses along with genes associated with complement activation. The adaptive immune responses are orchestrated by T and B cells that are tuned to respond to antigens that are normally foreign to the body, because these cells are educated to avoid self-antigens by a process of thymic education and selection of the T cells that are mostly non-self-reactive which also helps the B cells in eliciting specific immune responses to non-self-antigens. A by-product of this is the ability of the T and B cells to elicit strong immune responses to foreign HLA/MHC (alloimmune response), which developed into the field of histocompatibility testing for allogeneic transplantation of stem cells and organs. Now, we are beginning to learn that such alloimmune responses can be influenced by the microbiota that symbiotically live in our body especially on the mucosal surfaces and on the skin. This review deals with new and emerging data on how the commensal mucosal and skin microbiota influence the immune homeostasis, and how manipulating the commensal microbiota of the mucosa and skin could influence the survival and long-term functions of the allografts. Also, alterations of the microbiota by the inevitable immunosuppression prior to and following allogeneic transplantation could contribute towards the outcome of the allografts by alloimmune responses generated due to microbial antigen vs HLA cross-reactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanangat
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D017634:Self Tolerance; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D006680:HLA Antigens; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents