Skin Immunology and Rejection in VCA and Organ Transplantation

Abstract

AbstractPurpose of ReviewSkin provides a window into the health of an individual. Using transplanted skin as a monitor can provide a powerful tool for surveillance of rejection in a transplant. The purpose of this review is to provide relevant background to the role of skin in vascularized transplantation medicine.Recent FindingsDiscrete populations of T memory cells provide distributed immune protection in skin, and cycle between skin, lymph nodes, and blood. Skin-resident TREGcells proliferate in response to inflammation and contribute to long-term VCA survival in small animal models. Early clinical studies show sentinel flap rejection to correlate well with facial VCA skin rejection, and abdominal wall rejection demonstrates concordance with visceral rejection, but further studies are required.SummaryThis review focuses on the immunology of skin, skin rejection in vascularized composite allografts, and the recent advances in monitoring the health of transplanted tissues using distant “sentinel” flaps.