pISSN 3022-6783
eISSN 3022-7712

View

Article View

J Korean Soc Transplant 2012; 26(3): 165-173

Published online September 30, 2012

https://doi.org/10.4285/jkstn.2012.26.3.165

© The Korean Society for Transplantation

The Role of Macrophages in Transplant Rejection

Hye-Jung Yeom, Ph.D.1, Curie Ahn, M.D.1,2 and Jaeseok Yang, M.D.1,3

Transplantation Research Institute1, Department of Internal Medicine2, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Transplantation Center, Seoul National University Hospital3, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to: 양재석, 서울시 종로구 대학로 103 서울대학교병원 장기이식센터, 110-744
Tel: 02-2072-4128, Fax: 02-2072-4129
E-mail: jcyjs@dreamwiz.com

본 논문은 서울대학교병원 집중육성연구비 지원(0420110810)에 의해 이루어짐.

Received: August 27, 2012; Revised: August 27, 2012; Accepted: August 27, 2012

Abstract

Macrophage accumulation has been recognized as a feature of allograft rejection, however, the role of macrophages in rejection remains underappreciated. Macrophages are present within graft tissues throughout the lifespan of the graft, including acute rejection episodes. Recent advances in macrophage biology have demonstrated that different types of macrophages in grafts serve a range of functions, including promotion or attenuation of inflammation, participation in innate and adaptive immune responses, and mediation of tissue injury, fibrosis, and tissue repair. Macrophages contribute to both the innate and acquired arms of the alloimmune response, and, thus, may be involved in all aspects of acute and chronic allograft rejection. Macrophages are also involved in hyperacute and acute vascular rejection of xenografts. A deeper understanding of how macrophages accumulate within grafts and of the factors that control differentiation and function of these cells could lead to identification of novel therapeutic targets in transplantation.

Keywords: Homologous transplantation, Macrophages, Graft rejection, Transplantation, Heterologous transplantation