RESTARRT Primary Paper Published

The results of the ITN’s Research Study of ATG and Rituximab in Renal Transplantation (RESTARRT) trial have been published in the American Journal of Transplantation.  The trial, a prospective multicenter pilot study of low immunologic risk live donor kidney transplant recipients who received anti-thymocyte globulin and rituximab, and initiated immunosuppression withdrawal (ISW) at 26 weeks, showed that six of ten subjects successfully completed ISW with one remaining immunosuppression free for 9+ years. However, the regimen of combined B and T cell depletion did not generate the tolerogenic B cell profile observed in preclinical studies and did not lead to durable tolerance in a majority of kidney transplant recipients.  The study indicates that additional interventions to complement B cell depletion, potentially B lymphocyte stimulator (BlyS), may be needed for durable control of alloimmunity.