Antibody Agents in Solid Organ Transplantation

Abstract

Antibody agents play an important role in the pharmacotherapy of solid organ transplantation. These agents can be either monoclonal or polyclonal, derived from an animal source or genetically engineered utilizing human antibody sequences. This review presents basic pharmacology and therapeutic issues related to the antibody preparations utilized in transplantation including equine and rabbit antithymocyte globulins, muromonab-CD3, daclizumab, and basiliximab. The parameters covered for these agents include mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic monitoring strategies, clinical dosing, adverse effects, and clinical trials. The brief overview of current clinical data related to these agents focuses on kidney transplantation. The use of these very powerful agents in different patient populations needs to be individualized based on certain risks and these data are presented to help in the decision-making process, especially for renal allograft recipients.