Natural Killer Cells, CMV Infection, and Antibody-Mediated Rejection

Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) results from a pro-inflammatory cascade that occurs following the binding of circulating anti-HLA antibodies to HLA on donor endothelial cells. As such, pathogenic pathways of humoral immunity are considered key targets for diagnostic and therapeutic focus. As one example, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) is an important mechanism of ABMR, in which graft-bound anti-HLA antibodies activate innate leukocytes such as natural killer (NK) cells and monocytes via surface Fc gamma receptors for IgG1.