Current and Novel Techniques for Understanding Immune Responses After Lung Transplantation

TOPICAL COLLECTIONS

Guest Editor

Amit Bery

Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Dr. Bery’s first experience with basic science research occurred during his undergraduate training at Emory University where he worked in Dr. Todd Schlenke’s lab focused on evolutionary genetics, immunology, and ecology in Drosophila melanogaster with a special focus on interactions with specialized parasitoid wasps. During medical school, Dr. Bery worked in Dr. Susan Mackinnon’s lab at Washington University which focused on peripheral nerve injury in a rat model. During internal medicine residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, he received intramural grant funding from the Mentors in Medicine program to craft a clinical research project and participated in the Clinician-Scientist Training and Research program. During his Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship, he became interested in lung transplantation and realized the urgent need to better understand immune pathways after lung transplantation to improve outcomes, which galvanized his interest in becoming a physician-scientist. Dr. Bery elected to transition to a T32 training grant and joined Dr. Daniel Kreisel’s lab where his work has focused on innate and adaptive immune responses after lung transplantation. Since joining the Kreisel Lab, Dr. Bery have been active in performing basic science experiments and have authored/co-authored multiple reviews and clinical and basic science manuscripts. He recently received a 2023 Dean’s Scholars Award from the Division of Physician Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine for his work on the role of interleukin-1β in the prevention of lung allograft rejection.

Collection Overview

Lung transplantation is still considered the most effective treatment for patients with end-stage lung disease. Despite having a median survival rate of less than 7 years, long-term outcomes are worse compared to other solid organ transplants. This is primarily due to the incidence of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD), which remains the leading cause of death after lung transplantation.

Several factors, such as primary graft dysfunction, acute cellular rejection, and antibody-mediated rejection, have been identified as independent risk factors for the development of CLAD. Although therapeutic immunosuppression has been adapted from other solid organ transplants, previous investigations have shown that the mechanisms of tolerance in the transplanted lung are distinct. Therefore, there is a crucial need to understand the specific mechanisms of tolerance in the lung to improve outcomes.

Over the last two decades, basic, translational, and clinical research in the field of lung transplantation immunology has greatly expanded. Animal models that closely resemble human lung transplantation have been developed, enabling the study of various factors affecting short- and long-term outcomes. However, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms of tolerance specific to the lung.

This Methods Collection aims to address this limitation in two ways: first, by sharing established models and research methods of lung transplantation worldwide, allowing greater participation in reproducible research, and second, by highlighting novel and innovative tools to expand the armamentarium of lung transplant immunologists.