Transplant immunology articles from across Nature Portfolio

High-dimensional immune profiling of a living recipient of a pig-to-human xenotransplant provides insight into the immune landscape of xenotransplantation and directions for improved immunosuppression strategies.

Vaulet et al. developed and validated four continuous indices from histological lesion scores to assess kidney transplant rejection, offering an alternative to the Banff categories that reflect the continuous nature of rejection.

Together with a companion paper, molecular details of immune responses in a pig-to-human xenotransplantation are identified through dense longitudinal multi-omics profiling of the xenograft and the host recipient, across the 61-day procedure.

Xenotransplantation of a genetically edited pig kidney with a thymic autograft into a brain-dead human for 61 days with immunosuppression resulted in stable kidney function without proteinuria, and xenograft rejection was treated and reversed by the end of the study.

In 2025, several landmark studies illuminated the sequence of immune events that influence tolerance and rejection in kidney transplantation, from the molecular triggers of allorecognition to the chemotactic control of cytotoxicity and the protective mechanisms underlying the benefits of immune therapies. As xenotransplantation advances, these insights will also be important for achieving sustained xenograft tolerance.