Transplantex: a transplant rejection Laboratory of Excellence

Kidney, heart, liver, lung, bone marrow… all transplant patients are concerned by immune reactions and rejection risks that often happen a long time after surgery. It is all about histocompatibility, explains Seiamak Bahram, professor of immunology at Unistra and Strasbourg University Hospitals, and director of Transplantex Laboratory: “Histocompatibility is the tissue compatibility that prevents the rejection of a transplant by the recipient's immune system. It is particularly important in the case of bone marrow transplants: since the whole immune system is replaced, it can’t react against its host.” Two histocompatibility genes and a state-of-the-art diagnosis kit As of today, the eligibility of the donor and the anti-rejection prognostic of the recipient essentially rely on the similarity of their HLA system, a small group of genes responsible of the regulation of the immune system.  Some aspects remain unknown: to identify them, the Genomax platform provides the laboratory with next-generation DNA-sequencing tools: "This technology enabled us to reveal the implication of two genes, MICA and MICB, among a group of 1000 transplanted patients”, Seiamak Bahram explains. These new elements imply new therapeutic targets and alternatives to the immunosuppressing treatment followed by every patient after a transplant. Beyond fundamental research, Transplantex is oriented towards technological and industrial innovation. "High-throughput sequencing allow us to develop a new HLA-diagnosis tool, a faster and more accurate histocompatibility genotyping kit. Thanks to the industrial partners of Transplantex, we hope to bring this device to market by the end of the programme.”