Coordinated by Didier Ducloux, Jamal Bamoulid and Baptiste Lamarthée, the “Transplantation” group studies host-transplant interactions in the context of kidney transplantation or transfusion.

This group seeks to identify biomarkers and to develop new therapeutic approaches.

The team is particularly interested in two complications associated with kidney transplantation: cardiovascular diseases associated with accelerated aging of the adaptive immune system and graft rejection associated with cells of the innate immune system.

Aging of the adaptive immune system, especially CD4+ lymphocytes, is associated with impaired thymic function and chronic stimulation of the immune system. These consequences are also studied in the context of chronic renal failure. Concerning graft rejection, the role of innate immune cells is still poorly understood and the team is exploring more particularly the involvement of monocytes in the mechanisms of allogeneic recognition. New therapies based on monocytes are being studied in order to promote immune tolerance towards a renal graft.

This work is based on a multicenter cohort of more than 1000 patients, ORLY-EST. The identification of biomarkers should lead to interventional studies to limit the complications associated with kidney transplantation.