Project: Testing the clinical utility of commercial Non-HLA antibody kits Project leader: Raymond Fernando Detailed project description: There is anecdotal evidence that non-HLA antibodies are involved in early rejection episodes after renal transplantation. The evidential data comes from small, single centre studies, pre-dominantly focussing on one or a restricted number of non-HLA targets. Both One…
Project name: HLA Dictionary Update Project leader(s): Loren Gragert and Michael Gautreaux Detailed project description: Update the HLA dictionary with a more comprehensive serological equivalent list for HLA class I and II. Milestones in years: 2020-2021: Compile an updated allele list for HLA class I and II loci and identify alleles for which the serological…
Project name: HLA-DQ immunogenicity – focus on 2MM1DSA Project leaders: Anat R. Tambur & Lloyd d’Orsogna Detailed project description: One of the limitations of studying HLA epitopes in the context of population studies is the heterogeneity of the cohort in terms of induction therapy, maintenance immunosuppression, medication compliance, other sensitizing events during the post-transplant course (like…
Project name: Definition of non-immunogenic epitopes Project leaders: Sebastiaan Heidt & Eric Spierings Detailed project description: Highly sensitized patients make antibodies against epitopes present on many HLA antigens. However, from the Eurotransplant Acceptable Mismatch program, we know that most highly sensitized patients have ‘holes’ in their immunological repertoire, such that acceptable mismatches can be defined.…
Project name: Definition of immunogenic epitopes Project leaders: Sebastiaan Heidt & Eric Spierings Detailed project description: On the population level it is clear that a higher number of epitope mismatches increases the chance of donor specific antibody (DSA) formation. However, from the same data it is clear that not all epitope mismatches result in antibody…
Antigenicity & Immunogenicity Epitope-based HLA matching is an emerging concept in HLA alloimmunity. The epitope component aims at a better understanding of HLA epitopes and to improve the definition of these epitopes. The Antigenicity & Immunogenicity component comprises the following projects: Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Definition of immunogenic epitopes Definition of non-immunogenic epitopes HLA-DQ immunogenicity HLA…
Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Component Leader: Dr. Effie Peterdorf The International Histocompatibility Working Group (IHWG) is a collaborative international effort to increase the availability and efficacy of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from alternative donors through an improved understanding of the genetic barrier. The HCT working group is comprised of experts in the fields of histocompatibility and…
