Reflections on the usefulness of extracorporeal photopheresis in renal transplant rejection: A concise review of the involved mechanisms and therapeutic perspectives.

Renal rejection clinically represents a major cause of graft dysfunction and sadly the loss of the renal transplant. This is despite the considerable progress in immunosuppressive therapy. It is strongly believed that the complex immunologic network underlying the response against major histocompatibility molecules (MHC) is responsible for rejection, an unresolved issue that is, in part, not inhibited by the current prophylactic and therapeutic strategies. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an effective cell therapy approach that was successfully used in immunomodulating heart rejection, acute and chronic GvHD, lung rejection and some selected autoimmune diseases. In this concise report we provide a brief review on the mechanisms of action and the use of ECP in acute and chronic renal allograft rejection.