"Lungs are unique," says Alexander Krupnick. "Unlike other organs, they are continually exposed to bacteria, viruses, and everything else in the environment, and we think this increases the risk of chronic rejection and the eventual failure of the organ."“In mice, memory T cells are critical for a lung transplant to have a good outcome,” says co-corresponding author Daniel Kreisel, a Washington University in St. Louis lung transplant surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “A lot of transplant recipients receive drugs that indiscriminately deplete many different T cells. But in lung transplants, this strategy may contribute to organ rejection.”When the scientists infused memory T cells into the lung recipients, they could reduce inflammation and prevent rejection. This new approach to appreciating the imperative inculcation of memory T cells throughout a lung transplant may alter the manner we transplant lungs in the future.
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