Comparison of Cyclosporin A and Tacrolimus in the Field of Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Abstract Organ rejection occurs when a patient’s immune system recognizes transplanted organ as foreign, initiating immune responses that ultimately destroys the transplant. Since organ transplantation is offered only after all the other treatments have failed, the rejection is hence fatal and requires immediate medical treatment. As a solution, immunosuppressive drugs are widely used to treat organ rejection. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs), a kind of non-depleting agents including but not limited to Cyclosporin A (CsA) and Tacrolimus (FK506), prevent T- cell activity intracellularly through inhibiting cytokine expression and T-cell proliferation. By comparing the structure, mechanism and application of Cyclosporin A and Tacrolimus, not only organ rejection can be better understood, the two immunosuppressant can be better evaluated and studied.