Blocking the immune response to protect transplanted kidneys so they function better and last longer
More than 6,000 people in the UK are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. Ensuring good long-term health of transplanted kidneys is crucial for a better outcome for transplant recipients and to ensure that as many people as possible can receive a donor kidney. With our support, Professor Kevin Marchbank and his team will look at a new way to reduce immune system targeting of donated kidneys.
We need better ways to protect the kidneys during transplantation
During the kidney transplantation process, blood supply to the donated kidney must be stopped before the kidney is removed, transported, then implanted into the recipient.
At each of these stages the kidney undergoes injury. Injury to the kidney can activate the immune system in the recipient, and a pathway called the complement system, which although designed to protect our bodies from infection, in this case attacks and damages the cells of the transplanted kidney.
Protecting donated kidneys
Kevin and his team will use kidneys donated for research and simulate the conditions of each stage of the kidney transplant process.
They will treat kidneys with their new drug, which inhibits the complement pathway, to see if this reduces damage from the immune response to the kidney once reconnected to a new blood stream.
Kevin and his team will then study the safety of the drug, looking at what dose is needed to protect the kidney, and how much is released into the blood. They will then use a model to look at the body’s response to this level of the drug in the blood and any side effects.
Looking for future treatment options
Kevin and his team will look at whether their new drug can protect the kidneys from damage during transplantation, potentially enhancing their function and lifespan. As well as improving kidney health for transplant recipients, this could also increase the availability of donor kidneys for transplant.
Meet Professor Kevin Marchbank
Professor Kevin Marchbank works at Newcastle University looking at the immune system, particularly the complement pathway, in kidney disease.
The Kidney Research UK and Stoneygate funded Professor Michael Nicholson Research Project grant of £230,000 will mean Kevin and his team can continue their previous work to test their newly developed drug which has been shown to protect the kidney in certain kidney diseases. This project will enable them to test if this new drug could also protect the kidneys during transplantation.
“The complement pathway is an ancient part of our immune system and unfortunately doesn’t always distinguish between friend and foe. Our new treatment aims to signal to this system not to attack the transplanted kidney, protecting it in both the short and long term.
“I am very grateful to Kidney Research UK and their supporters who have helped keep this project alive. The previous and current funding has allowed us to progress this drug through different stages of testing without which we wouldn’t be in a position to look at getting this drug on the market and available to patients in the future.” Professor Kevin Marchbank
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