As part of the on-going collaboration between TTS and our official Sections, and in order to provide TTS members with an update on areas of the field represented by TTS Sections, content for this issue of the Pulse has been submitted by the International Xenotransplantation Association.

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Special CTRMS Feature

CTRMS Council Retreat: Charting a Vision for the Future

From July 11–13, 2024, the CTRMS Council gathered at the University of Cagliari, Sardinia, for a pivotal retreat. The meeting brought together seven council members, including President Toshio Miki, Klearchos Papas, Maria Koulmanda, Peggy Stock, Roberto Gramignoli, Ekaterine Berishvili and Fabio Marongiu, to strategize the Society’s future.

Key discussions revisited CTRMS’s legacy as a leader in cell transplantation, reaffirming its role as a platform that bridges research across disciplines. For decades, CTRMS has united researchers to share groundbreaking technologies and transformative methodologies, echoing the pioneering work of its founder, Dr. Ricordi, whose innovations in pancreatic islet isolation set a new standard in the field. This spirit of cross-disciplinary collaboration continues to inspire advancements in isolating and applying specific cells, driving progress in medical science.

The retreat also marked an update to the Society’s mission and goals, alongside the formation of new committees to advance key initiatives. These committees will support efforts to strengthen educational activities, enhance outreach, foster communication, boost fundraising, and advocate for the Society's strategic vision.

The retreat reinforced CTRMS’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of scientists, emphasizing an inclusive environment for knowledge exchange and collaborative research. Future initiatives include bolstering partnerships with other societies, hosting workshops to expand CTRMS’s reach, and implementing a refreshed membership structure.

Enhancing communication was also prioritized, with a plan for a quarterly newsletter and a revamped website. Fundraising efforts will soon include donation options and dedicated funding for scholarships and travel awards.

The Council wrapped up the retreat with great anticipation for the CTRMS Congress 2025 in Tokyo, finalizing key dates and budget plans. This flagship event promises to be an extraordinary opportunity for global collaboration, knowledge sharing, and showcasing the Society’s commitment to advancing cell transplantation research. Special thanks to Fabio Marongiu for hosting this dynamic retreat, which has set the stage for continued growth and innovation in the Society.

Council Members: Roberto Gramignoli, Ekaterina Berishvili, Fabio Marongiu, Maria Koulmanda (Secretary Treasurer), Toshio Miki (CTRMS President), Peggy Stock, and Klearchos Papas (Immediate Past President).

CTRMS Mission

Our mission is to lead the development and delivery of safe, innovative cellular and regenerative therapies to improve patients’ health. We bring together a global community of experts in the field, thus creating a robust platform for scientific advancement. Our extensive network supports and promotes collaborative research, educational initiatives, and exchange opportunities among scientists and clinicians from academia and industry. We are dedicated to facilitating the clinical translation of pioneering therapies and addressing the complex regulatory issues that accompany these advancements.

CTRMS Objectives: Why Become a Member?

Our Society is committed to fostering collaboration, advancing scientific knowledge, and navigating the complexities of cell therapy to drive the field forward. By becoming a member of CTRMS, you gain access to a wealth of opportunities designed to support your basic and clinical research, as well as your career and professional development. We also offer reduced membership fees for researchers from emerging economies and those who choose to pay for two years in advance, making membership accessible to a global community.

Foster Research and Collaboration:

As a member, you’ll have the opportunity to engage with experts across all fields of cell therapy, promoting interdisciplinary networking among researchers, clinicians, and industry professionals. We also organize bi-annual international meetings and focused events that highlight cutting-edge scientific developments.

Define and Disseminate Standards:

Members can contribute to the creation of position papers, consensus statements, and guidelines that shape the future of advanced translational technologies in cell therapy.

Advance Basic and Applied Research:

We support members in advancing both basic and applied research, helping to drive the development of enabling technologies that enhance cell therapy applications.

Navigate Regulatory Aspects:

Our members gain access to valuable resources and guidance on navigating regulatory issues related to cell therapy, including engagement with key regulatory authorities and support for compliance with regulatory requirements.

Educational Initiatives:

Through CTRMS membership, you’ll gain access to exclusive educational programs and resources designed to keep you informed about the latest developments in cell therapy.

Support Career Development:

We offer mentoring opportunities and professional growth programs to support the career development of our members, particularly early-career scientists.

CLICK HERE TO BECOME A MEMBER

Research Highlight: Breakthrough Device for Type 1 Diabetes Management

The 18^th CTRMS International Congress in Tokyo, 22-25 October 2025

We’re thrilled to announce the 18th Congress of the Cell Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Society, set to take place in Tokyo in 2025. With the theme “CONNECT”, this event aims to reignite the power of face-to-face collaboration after the challenges of the global pandemic. While virtual meetings have been invaluable, there’s no substitute for in-person exchange to truly drive progress and innovation in cell therapy.

Led by Roberto Gramignoli, the scientific committee is curating an exciting program with focused sessions on key topics like cell manufacturing, regulatory challenges, gene therapies, and advanced technologies such as 3D/4D culture systems, bioprinting, and AI. This congress will connect scientists and industry leaders from around the world, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and accelerating the real-world impact of cell therapy advancements.

Tokyo, a global hub for research, innovation, and industry, provides the perfect backdrop for this congress. Easily accessible from across the globe, it’s an ideal venue for fostering diverse international collaborations. The city is home to leading universities, cutting-edge research institutions, and major biotech companies, making it a dynamic center for scientific discovery.

Honorary Ricordi Lecture

Dr. Stephen Strom, Sweden
Bio

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Shinichi Matsumoto, japan
Bio

See Our Cell Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Sessions from TTS 2024

Cell Transpant and Regenerative Medicine

TTS 2024 Registrants - Click on links below for access

Plenary Session

Liver Xenotransplantation

Ke-Feng Dou, People's Republic of China

Exogenic Organs: Going Beyond Xenotransplantation

Hiromitsu Nakauchi, Japan

Thematic Sessions

Religious Perspectives Regarding the Ethical Issues Associated with Clinical Xenotransplantation

Xenotransplantation’s Regulatory Road to the Clinic

Abstract Sessions

Xenotransplantation 1

Xenotransplantation 2

Heart Transplantation

Heart Xenotransplantation - Robert A Montgomery, United States

Lung Translational

Rodent-Powered Lung Rejuvenation: Mitochondrial Xenotransplantation in Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion to Combat Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury - Franziska Olm, Sweden

Just Released - Transplantation Direct - November Issue

The November issue of Transplantation Direct is now online. We have a number of articles on different aspects of kidney transplantation, including a systematic method to precisely assess pre-transplant biopsies, waitlisting, and graft loss after re-transplantation due to recurrent glomerulonephritis, procedures to reduce healthcare-associated infections after transplantation, understanding the “null-allelle," and the use of spatial transcriptomic profiling of kidney biopsies to better understand acute T cell-mediated rejection. In simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients, there are reports on beta cell function and autoantibody influences on outcomes, and the association of posttransplant weight changes on graft and metabolic outcomes. In liver transplantation, UNOS data was evaluated for the effects of donor-recipient size mismatches on short- and long-term outcomes in living donation cases. On the topic of organ donation, we have articles on reactions of family members of potential donors in the ICU to law changes of deemed consent, and the Swiss Organ Living Donor Health Registry has been comprehensively evaluated for pre- and post-transplant complications related to living donor kidney donation. This issue also contains an article where authors propose to use metagenomics shotgun sequencing to better understand the viral causes and predictive markers of PTLD development. All of these articles, and more, are freely available on the Transplantation Direct website in open access; please visit our website for complete details.

Table of Contents

Letter to the Editor

Understanding “Null Allele” in Renal Transplantation

Kidney Transplantation

Liver Transplantation

Revisiting the Prognostic Influences of Donor-Recipient Size Mismatch in Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Pancreas and Islet Transplantation

Organ Donation and Procurement

Laboratory Method

The Post-transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders—Metagenomic Shotgun Microbial Sequencing (PTLD-MSMS) Study Methods and Protocol

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THIS ISSUE

TTS MEMBERS - CLICK HERE TO SIGN-IN FOR OPEN ACCESS THROUGH TTS.ORG

Open to all IPTA and TTS Members

TTS Members may sign up using the links below (Separate links for each day). IPTA Members were automatcially subscribed last week however if you did not receive an email you may still sign-up using the links below. Anyone who would like to attend may apply for IPTA or TTS prior to November 12 and once you application is submitted you may sign up with the links below.

Welcome to our first IPTA-VES - International Pediatric Transplant Association Virtual Education Symposium. This symposium is open to all members and trainees of the clinical and academic multi-disciplinary teams in pediatric transplantation. After many successful years of IPTA Fellow Meetings, we have arranged this teaching so it is available to all those skilled staff working with children and their families in the field of transplantation.

Stephen D. Marks

United Kingdom

Rupesh Raina

United States

Jenny Prüfe

Germany

Gillian Mayersohn

United States

Overview

The International Pediatric Transplant Association (IPTA) Virtual Education Symposium is open to IPTA and TTS members.
This interactive symposium is over two half days on Thursday and Friday 14 and 15 November 2024, commencing with two separate streams for medics and for allied health and nursing professionals.
This is an educational symposium which aims to cover both basic and advanced subjects for all trainee and staff physicians and surgeons and as well as members of the allied health and nursing professionals, including psychosocial teams.

Learning Objectives

Basic and advanced immunology and immunosuppression
Post-transplantation rejection and infection
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder
Latest clinical information on nutrition, adherence, quality of life and sexual health
Psychosocial aspects of transplantation
Ethical and practical aspects of transplantation in low resource settings
When to accept deceased donor organs for transplantation
Academic guidance on writing grants, abstracts and manuscripts

Accreditation

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Amedco LLC and International Pediatric Transplantation Association (IPTA). Amedco LLC is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Amedco Joint Accreditation #4008163.
Professions in scope for this activity are listed below.

Physicians
Amedco LLC designates this live activity for a maximum of 8.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nurses
Amedco LLC designates this activity for a maximum of 8.00 ANCC contact hours.

American Board for Transplant Coordinators
The American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC) has approved this educational offering for up to 8.00 Category 1 Continuing Education Points for Transplant Certification (CEPTCs).

Abstract Submission

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 31

Successful applicants will be notified by Nov 8th

Please submit abstracts here:
SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT

Guidance on abstract submission:

Abstracts will not be accepted unless conform to these guidelines.
Please submit abstracts, written in English with Arial font 10 in Word document with abstract title limited to 30 words (without abbreviations in title) and abstract length up to 500 words (including any pictures, charts or tables noting only one jpg picture, chart or table allowed) with up to five total authors.
Please state the presenting author and if this author is trainee physician / trainee surgeon / medical student / allied health professional / nursing professional / student nurse / student allied health professionals.
Please state category of abstract: kidney / liver / heart / lung / liver / stem cell / bone marrow / multi-organ / ethics / psychosocial.
Please structure your abstract as Aims / Methods / Results / Conclusions.

Thursday, November 14, 2024 • 09:00–13:00 EST

Local time (Corresponding local time at your current location)

The duration of these sessions is scheduled for 4 hours.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW Day 1 - Nov. 14

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE AHNP and Joint Sessions

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE MEDICAL Session

Friday, November 15, 2024 • 09:00–13:00 EST

Local time (Corresponding local time at your current location)

The duration of this session is scheduled for 4 hours.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW Day 2 - Nov. 15

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

In case you missed it ... TTS2024 Recordings

Member Access to TTS 2024 Recordings

Access Virtual Recordings (Oct 21-23)

Virtual Program Recordings

In-person Recordings

Virtual Program Recordings

TTS 2024 Attendee Access

The recordings from the in-person and virtual parts of the Congress are available in the TTS 2024 WebApp.

Access the WebApp

TTS 2024 Congress Recording Sponsored by:

Transplantation Journal Highlights

Transplantation - Social Media Content

Targeting Macrophages in Organ Transplantation: A Step Toward Personalized Medicine

Organ transplantation remains the most optimal strategy for patients with end-stage organ failure. However, prevailing methods of immunosuppression are marred by adverse side effects, and allograft rejection remains common. It is imperative to identify and comprehensively characterize the cell types involved in allograft rejection, and develop therapies with greater specificity. There is increasing recognition that processes mediating allograft rejection are the result of interactions between innate and adaptive immune cells.

Inflammatory Gene Expression in Livers Undergoing Ex Situ Normothermic Perfusion Is Attenuated by Leukocyte Removal From the Perfusate

Ex situ normothermic perfusion (ESNP) is a method to evaluate and potentially recondition organs before transplantation. However, increased expression of inflammatory molecules, including by tissue-resident immune cells, may occur during the perfusion process, potentially negating the beneficial effects of perfusion.

Transplantation Direct - Social Media Content

Revisiting the Prognostic Influences of Donor-Recipient Size Mismatch in Deceased Donor Liver Transplantation

Liver transplantation (LT) outcomes are influenced by donor-recipient size mismatch. This study re-evaluated the impact on graft size discrepancies on survival outcomes.

The Cost-effectiveness of Valganciclovir Prophylaxis Versus Preemptive Therapy in CMV R+ Kidney Transplant Recipients Over the First Year Posttransplantation

In kidney transplant recipients with positive serology (R+) for the cytomegalovirus (CMV), 2 strategies are used to prevent infection, whose respective advantages over the other are still debated. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and cost utility of antiviral prophylaxis against CMV versus preemptive therapy, considering CMV infection–free survival over the first year posttransplantation as the main clinical outcome.

ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Program Presentation

Grand Rounds in Transplant Nephrology – an ISN-TTS Sister Transplant Centres Initiative: Post-transplant diabetes in paediatric kidney transplant recipients

Post transplant Diabetes (PTDM) is a well-recognized complication after Kidney transplantation. Recent updates include recognition of impaired glucose tolerance, optimization of immunosuppression, prevention of PTDM and incorporation of new glucose lowering agents. Peri-transplant hyperglycemia is being increasingly identified and treated in paediatric population. We discuss a case series of children who developed post transplant hyperglycemia. Two of them were asymptomatic, two of them had high tacrolimus levels and two of them required insulin therapy. Optimization of immunosuppression and insulin therapy resulted in resolution of hyperglycaemia.