A link between kidney transplant rejection and changes in the body's lymphatic vessels has been discovered in a UCL-led study.
The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, examined lymphatic vessels in the body's immune system which help to transport white blood cells and remove waste.
The researchers found that when a kidney transplant is rejected, the lymphatic vessels around the transplanted kidney undergo changes, making it easier for the immune system to attack the new organ.
This discovery could offer a new way of tracking transplant rejection in real-time and allow clinicians to intervene sooner if a donated kidney is in danger of being rejected which might save the organ. Lead author Dr Daniyal Jafree (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) said: "You can think of lymphatic vessels as the kidney's plumbing system - clearing away excess fluid, immune cells and inflammation.
"Until now, we have struggled to really understand what these vessels do in kidney transplantation because they are so difficult to study. Using new imaging techniques, we've shown that these vessels undergo dramatic changes during rejection and are themselves a target of the immune system."
