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Mechanisms of Airway Obliteration after Lung Transplantation

Clinic and Policlinic of Pneumology, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Laurent P. Nicod, Clinic and Policlinic of Pneumology, Inselspital, CH 3010 Bern, Switzerland. E-mail: laurent.nicod{at}insel.ch

ABSTRACT

Post-transplant bronchiolitis obliterans, also called bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome, affects up to 50–60% of patients who survive 5 yr after surgery according to its clinical definition, which is based on the degree of obstructive airway disease. Alloimmune-independent and -dependent mechanisms produce injuries and inflammation of epithelial cells and subepithelial structures, leading to aberrant tissue repair. The triggering of innate immunity by various infections or chemical injuries after, for example, gastroesophageal reflux, may lead to the release of danger signals that are able to activate dendritic cells, a crucial link with adaptive immunity. Inflammation can also increase the expression and display of major histocompatibility alloantigens and thus favor the initiation of rejection episodes. These phenomena may be limited in time and location or may be protracted. Reducing the risk of alloimmune-independent factors may be as important as treating acute episodes of lung rejection. Excessive immunosuppression may be deleterious by increasing the risk of infection, thereby triggering innate and adaptive immunity. New potential therapeutic targets are emerging from the research performed on leukotriene receptors, chemokine receptors, and growth factors. Neutralizing these molecules reduces the initial mononuclear and polynuclear infiltrates or the subsequent fibroproliferative process and the neovascular changes, feeding this process.

Key Words: adaptive immunity • dendritic cells • infections • innate immunity

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