Mechanisms involved in antibody- and complement-mediated allograft rejection

Antibody-mediated rejection has become critical clinically because this form of rejection is usually unresponsive to conventional anti-rejection therapy, and therefore, it has been recognized as a major cause of allograft loss. Our group developed experimental animal models of vascularized organ transplantation to study pathogenesis of antibody- and complement-mediated endothelial cell injury leading to graft rejection. In this review, we discuss mechanisms of antibody-mediated graft rejection resulting from activation of complement by C1q- and MBL (mannose-binding lectin)-dependent pathways and interactions with a variety of effector cells, including macrophages and monocytes through Fc gamma receptors and complement receptors.