PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Discovery from Mass General Brigham researchers yields insights on preventing organ transplant rejection

Study identifies receptors that slow inflammation, signaling a promising target for new therapies

2025-05-07
(Press-News.org) Current treatments to prevent organ transplant rejection focus mainly on suppressing T cells, part of the adaptive immune system. However, the innate immune system—the body’s first line of defense that triggers early inflammation after transplantation—has largely remained untargeted by modern therapies.

In a new study, researchers from Mass General Brigham identified a natural “brake” within the innate immune system: the inhibitory receptor Siglec-E (SigE) and its human counterparts, Siglec-7 and Siglec-9. This receptor helps prevent overactivation of immune cells that drive rejection. When this brake is missing, inflammation worsens, leading to faster rejection in preclinical models. Importantly, transplant patients with higher levels of Siglec-7 and Siglec-9 showed better graft survival, highlighting this pathway as a promising target for new therapies. Results are published in Science Translational Medicine.

“For decades, we’ve focused almost exclusively on controlling T cells to prevent rejection,” said Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD, medical director of Kidney Transplantation at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. Riella is also the Harold and Ellen Danser Endowed Chair in Transplantation at Harvard Medical School. “Our research shows that the innate immune system plays a pivotal role. By harnessing natural inhibitory pathways like Siglec-E, we can develop safer, more precise therapies that protect transplanted organs without compromising overall immune health.”

To conduct their studies, the researchers, led by first author Thiago J. Borges, PhD, of the Center for Transplantation Sciences at MGH, used mouse models of heart, kidney, and skin transplantation to study the roles of SigE, the murine equivalent of Siglec-7 and Siglec-9.  Recipients deficient in SigE had accelerated acute rejection and increased inflammation. The researchers also looked at the levels of the receptors in samples from human transplant biopsies, finding that higher levels of the receptors were associated with improved allograft survival, suggesting that the findings in mice will be translatable to organ transplants in humans.

“This discovery paves the way for next-generation treatments that address both arms of the immune system, offering hope for longer-lasting transplant success and reducing the need for lifelong immunosuppression,” said Riella.

Authorship: In addition to Riella, Mass General Brigham authors include Thiago J. Borges, Karina Lima, Rodrigo B. Gassen, Kaifeng Liu, Yoshikazu Ganchiku, Guilherme T. Ribas, Minxue Liao, Joao I. B. Goncalves, Isadora T. Lape, Ivy A. Rosales, and Joren C. Madsen. Additional authors include Yunlong Zhao, Enfu Hui, Robert L. Fairchild, Christian Le Guern, Cristina Bonorino, and Stuart K. Calderwood.

Disclosures: None.

Funding: This study was funded in part by the American Heart Association (23CDA1049388), the National Institutes of Health (R01AI143887), the National Institutes of Health (P01AI168258), the National Institutes of Health (R37CA239072), and the Assistant Secretary of Defense and Health Affairs, through the Reconstructive Transplant Research (RTR) award (W81XWH-20-1-0758).

Paper cited: Borges TJ et al. “The inhibitory receptor Siglec-E controls antigen-presenting cell activation and T cell–mediated transplant rejection” Science Translational Medicine DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.ads2694

 

###

About Mass General Brigham

Mass General Brigham is an integrated academic health care system, uniting great minds to solve the hardest problems in medicine for our communities and the world. Mass General Brigham connects a full continuum of care across a system of academic medical centers, community and specialty hospitals, a health insurance plan, physician networks, community health centers, home care, and long-term care services. Mass General Brigham is a nonprofit organization committed to patient care, research, teaching, and service to the community. In addition, Mass General Brigham is one of the nation’s leading biomedical research organizations with several Harvard Medical School teaching hospitals. For more information, please visit massgeneralbrigham.org.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Significant gaps in NHS care for patients who are deaf or have hearing loss, study finds

2025-05-07
A majority of individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss face significant communication barriers when accessing care through the National Health Service (NHS), with nearly two-thirds of patients missing half or more of vital information shared during appointments. A team of patients, clinicians, researchers and charity representatives, led by the University of Cambridge and the British Society of Audiology, surveyed over 550 people who are deaf or have hearing loss about their experiences with the NHS – making it the largest study of its kind. Their findings, reported in the journal PLOS ...

Research collaboration takes ‘one health’ approach to study Chagas disease exposure, treatment effectiveness

2025-05-07
A team of researchers at Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia (UGA) has received more than $4 million from federal and non-governmental organizations to support research on Chagas disease prevalence, diagnostics and treatment to benefit both dogs and humans. Chagas disease is a tropical illness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is most commonly spread by the fecal matter of triatomine bugs — also known as “kissing bugs” because they bite their hosts to feed on blood. The disease — common in humans and dogs — often goes unnoticed in early stages, but ...

Cracking the code: deciphering how concrete can heal itself

2025-05-07
Imagine concrete healing its own cracks like human skin recovering from a cut. That’s the vision behind the latest research of Dr. Congrui Grace Jin, published in Materials Today Communications.  Addressing one of the most persistent and expensive problems in construction, Jin, an assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, has taken inspiration from nature to develop a synthetic lichen system to enable concrete to self-repair. Concrete is the most widely used building material on Earth, yet it suffers from the dangerous flaw of cracking easily. These cracks, big or small, can lead to catastrophic structural failure, ...

A faster route to eliminating parasitic infection endemic to Africa

2025-05-07
Tens of millions of people in Africa are infected by parasitic worms that cause lymphatic filariasis (also called elephantiasis), a disease that leads to severe swelling and deformities of the limbs and genitals. Despite widespread treatment programs that have successfully reduced the risk of contracting lymphatic filariasis, hundreds of millions of people remain vulnerable to the infection. A small clinical trial in Cote d’Ivoire, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, shows that the anti-parasitic drug moxidectin – currently approved to ...

Eating avocados during pregnancy associated with lower food allergy risk in baby

2025-05-07
MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (May 7, 2025)  -- An observational study among 2,272 mother-child pairs in Finland found that infants had 44% lower odds of developing food allergies at 12 months if their mother consumed fresh avocado during pregnancy, after adjusting for other lifestyle, delivery, and maternal health factors. Decades of research have explored the relationship between maternal diet and allergic outcomes in infants, but this is the first published study to link avocados in the maternal diet to ...

Paper sensors and smartphone app monitor personal smoke exposure

2025-05-07
An inexpensive paper sensor along with a smartphone-based reader developed by a Washington State University-led team can rapidly provide information on a person’s personal smoke exposure during wildfire season. The sensor can provide valuable information for firefighters and others to clarify just how much harmful pollution they might inhale during smoky conditions. The researchers, including from University of Washington and University of Georgia, report on their work in the journal, ACS Applied ...

Immunogenicity and safety of influenza and COVID-19 multicomponent vaccine in adults age 50 and older

2025-05-07
About The Study: In this phase 3 study, mRNA-1083, an investigational, multicomponent vaccine against seasonal influenza and SARS-CoV-2, met noninferiority criteria and induced higher immune responses than recommended standard care influenza (standard and high dose) and COVID-19 vaccines against all 4 influenza strains (among those ages 50-64), the 3 clinically relevant influenza strains (among those age 65 and older), and SARS-CoV-2 (all ages), with an acceptable tolerability and safety profile. Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Amanda K. Rudman Spergel, MD, email Amanda.RudmanSpergel@modernatx.com. To ...

Comb jellies reveal ancient origins of animal genome regulation

2025-05-07
Life depends on genes being switched on and off at exactly the right time. Even the simplest living organisms do this, but usually over short distances across the DNA sequence, with the on/off switch typically right next to a gene. This basic form of genomic regulation is probably as old as life on Earth.  A new study published today in Nature by researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and the Centre Nacional d’Anàlisi Genòmica (CNAG) finds that the ability to control genes from far away, over many tens of thousands of DNA letters, evolved between 650 and 700 million years ...

Will you live an unprecedented life?

2025-05-07
Climate change's disproportionate burden on youth  Climate extremes, including heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, tropical cyclones, wildfires and droughts, will intensify with continued atmospheric warming. Today’s children will endure more climate extremes then any previous generation.   “In 2021, we demonstrated how children are to face disproportionate increases in extreme event exposure – especially in low-income countries. Now, we examined where the cumulative exposure to climate extremes across one’s lifetime will far exceed that which would have ...

Study finds teens driving older vehicles have increased risk for fatal crashes

2025-05-07
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. Newer vehicles and driver assistance technologies show promise in reducing crashes and injury severities.  Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital reviewed national fatal crash data (2016-2021) and examined the vehicle age and driver assistance technologies of vehicles driven by teen and middle-aged drivers, and their associations with driver deaths during fatal crashes.  In a study published today ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Common lung bacteria team up to evade immune defenses

Eating ultra-processed foods may harm your health

Major US cities are sinking

New study traces sharp regional shifts in ischemic heart disease burden — a global warning signal

Too fast to see

All of the biggest U.S. cities are sinking

Database reveals vital ocean links to aid conservation

Robotic dog mimics mammals for superior mobility on land and in water

Mammal’s lifespans linked to brain size and immune system function, says new study

Top EU food & agri institutes launch new science alliance

How to reduce global CO2 emissions from industry

Nature visits can improve well-being disparities among urban dwellers

Silent scorpion-sting epidemic in Brazil driven by urbanization and climate change

GP-led talking therapy eases PTSD symptoms after critical illness

Removing ovaries and fallopian tubes linked to lower risk of early death among breast cancer patients with BRCA cancer genes

The Lancet: Nearly half of sexual abuse first happens at age 15 or younger

Satellites observe glacier committing “ice piracy”

Non-inherited genes affect children’s development

Social media platform tailoring could support more fulfilling use, study finds

The hope for detecting Parkinson’s disease much earlier with a simple brain scan

MRI breakthrough could revolutionize diagnosis of common heart problem aortic stenosis

Enhanced CAR T cell therapy offers new strategy for lymphoma

Researchers identify measure of pulse rate that can predict faster cognitive decline in older adults

Discovery of dopamine receptors in a previously overlooked part of the brain sheds light on the complex circuitry for anxiety and depression

No one to play with? UCLA’s PEERS for Preschoolers program is changing that

New method provides fresh insights into insect decline

Foot traffic can predict COVID-19 spread in New York City neighborhoods

Janice R. Lachance, J.D., FASAE selected for top position of global earth and space science association

Eating ultra processed foods may speed up early signs of Parkinson's disease

Sleep apnea during REM sleep linked to memory-related brain changes

[Press-News.org] Discovery from Mass General Brigham researchers yields insights on preventing organ transplant rejection
Study identifies receptors that slow inflammation, signaling a promising target for new therapies