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Transplantation

Autoantibodies—epiphenomena or biological clues

Nature Reviews Nephrology volume 9, pages 705–706 (2013)Cite this article

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The potential roles for autoantibodies in renal transplantation are increasing, as illustrated by a recent report of polyreactive autoantibodies produced by B-cell clones from a kidney transplant recipient that can bind apoptotic cells and activate complement. Such autoantibodies have the potential to amplify microcirculation injury caused by alloantibody in antibody-mediated transplant rejection.

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Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges K. Famulski and J. Reeve for advice on this manuscript, and J. Chang for help in manuscript preparation. The author has received research funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Capital Health, the University Hospital Foundation, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and Novartis.

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  1. Alberta Transplant Applied Genomics Centre, University of Alberta, 250 Heritage Medical Research Centre, Edmonton, T6G 2S2, AB, Canada

    Philip F. Halloran

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  1. Philip F. Halloran
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Correspondence to Philip F. Halloran.

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Competing interests

P. F. Halloran holds shares in Transcriptome Sciences Inc., a company with an interest in molecular diagnostics.

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Halloran, P. Autoantibodies—epiphenomena or biological clues. Nat Rev Nephrol 9, 705–706 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneph.2013.221

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