Experimental immunosuppressant drug can easily preserve transplanted kidneys
Investigational drug belatacept (LEA29Y) is effective for preventing transplanted kidney function as effectively as cyclosporine, a commonly used drug to inhibit the immune system from rejecting transplanted organs. This finding was recently revealed by an international team of transplant physicians.
It was also revealed that belatacept is able to prevent many side effects, which may adversely affect kidney function, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure in patients undergoing anti-rejection therapy with immunosuppressant drugs in the long run.
From News-Medical.Net:
Belatacept, on the other hand, prevents T-cell activation by selectively blocking one of two signals needed for T-cells to become fully activated and to initiate an immune response against a transplanted organ. Selectively blocking this co-stimulatory signal prevents organ rejection while allowing the body to continue fighting other infections.
Preclinical research conducted with nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University also showed belatacept was equally as effective as cyclosporine in preventing rejection of kidney transplants while avoiding toxic side effects. The primate research was an important step in establishing human clinical trials to develop an effective alternative to current anti-rejection therapies.
The data from the primate studies and the current clinical trial have formed the basis of a similar international Phase III study of belatacept and kidney transplants as well as exploratory studies using belatacept that avoids both cyclosporine and steroids and a study of islet transplants using belatacept in place of cyclosporine.
These findings were published in an issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Christian P. Larsen, MD, PhD, director of the Emory Transplant Center and professor of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, and Flavio Vincenti, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, are co-lead authors of the article.
Tags: belatacept, cyclosporine, Steroids
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