Targeting Macrophages in Organ Transplantation: A Step Toward Personalized Medicine

Abstract

Organ transplantation remains the most optimal strategy for patients with end-stage organ failure. However, prevailing methods of immunosuppression are marred by adverse side effects, and allograft rejection remains common. It is imperative to identify and comprehensively characterize the cell types involved in allograft rejection, and develop therapies with greater specificity. There is increasing recognition that processes mediating allograft rejection are the result of interactions between innate and adaptive immune cells. Macrophages are heterogeneous innate immune cells with diverse functions that contribute to ischemia-reperfusion injury, acute rejection, and chronic rejection. Macrophages are inflammatory cells capable of innate allorecognition that strengthen their responses to secondary exposures over time via “trained immunity.” However, macrophages also adopt immunoregulatory phenotypes and may promote allograft tolerance. In this review, we discuss the roles of macrophages in rejection and tolerance, and detail how macrophage plasticity and polarization influence transplantation outcomes. A comprehensive understanding of macrophages in transplant will guide future personalized approaches to therapies aimed at facilitating tolerance or mitigating the rejection process.