Immunosuppressive Polymers Could Reduce Organ Rejection After Transplant

Researchers have found a way to reduce organ rejection following a transplant by using a special polymer to coat blood vessels on the organ to be transplanted. The polymer, developed by University of British Columbia researchers, substantially diminished rejection of transplants in mice when tested by collaborators at SFU and Northwestern University. The findings were published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

“We’re hopeful that this breakthrough will one day improve quality of life for transplant patients and improve the lifespan of transplanted organs,” said lead researcher Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu. The discovery has the potential to eliminate the need for drugs—typically with serious side effects—on which transplant recipients rely to prevent their immune systems from attacking a new organ as a foreign object.

Kizhakkedathu explained how that problem arises, "Blood vessels in our organs are protected with a coating of special types of sugars that suppress the immune system’s reaction, but in the process of procuring organs for transplantation, these sugars are damaged and no longer able to transmit their message.” The team synthesized a polymer to mimic these sugars and developed a chemical process for applying it to the blood vessels.

"We were amazed by the ability of this new technology to prevent rejection in our studies," said collaborator Jonathan Choy. "To be honest, the level of protection was unexpected." The researchers are optimistic it could work equally well on lungs, hearts, and other organs, which would be great news for prospective recipients of donated organs.