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New TTS Masterclass Series - Registration Opens on May 15, 2021

Visit www.masterclass.tts.org for more details

TTS Masterclass Series in numbers

35 Masterclasses in total
5 topical series (Transplant Immunology, Infection, Organ Donation, Immunosuppression and Outcome Reporting)
7 global regions
90-minute live class
140 international and regional speakers and moderators

Just Released - Transplantation Direct - May Issue

The May 2021 issue of Transplantation Direct is online, offering open access. This issue covers a variety of topics across the field of transplantation. Highlights include studies in kidney transplantation, such as an SRTR initiative testing the feasibility and potential value of establishing a living donor registry. There are reports on the effects of tocilizumab therapy on alloantibody levels in highly sensitized transplant candidates, and an interesting case study warns about high donor-derived cell-free DNA levels in SARS-CoV-2-infected transplant recipients. Studies in liver transplantation report on the impact of pneumonia and other complications on transplant outcomes in older patients (using NSQIP Transplant data). There are also articles on the development of a liver transplant patient, family and provider support tool for offer acceptance decision making, and on raising awareness of unexplained recurrent pancreatitis due to PTLD. It is also worth highlighting an article where investigators study the effects of thymectomy on delicate immune balances (e.g. Treg and Teff) in pediatric heart transplant recipients. Please visit our open access Transplantation Direct website for complete details, and we welcome you to get a head start on other upcoming new articles via the “Online Now” button.

Link to the Journal (open access)

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Selected abstracts will be published in the abstract supplements of Organogenesis and Xenotransplantation journals.
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New Course from the DICG

The course is open to all participants who want to learn about ethics in transplantation, the DOI and the DICG

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TTS Upcoming Webinars

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MESOT (TTS Affiliated Society) Webinars

New June 6, 2021 MESOT Webinar

The Middle East Society For Organ Transplantation (MESOT) invites you to the 2nd webinar on How to Increase Deceased Organ Donation during the Covid-19 Era.

The signup link will be provided in next week's Tribune Pulse.

www.mesot-tx.org

April 7, 2021 Recording

Watch the recording of the first MESOT Webinar on How to Increase Organ Donation and Transplantation in Our Region during the Covid-19 Pandemic Period which was held on April 7, 2021.

Highlighted News

How Severe COVID-19 Can Tragically Lead to Lung Failure and Death

May 10 - Two recent studies in the journal Nature provide some of the most-detailed analyses yet about the effects on the human body of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 [1,2]. The research shows that in people with advanced infections, SARS-CoV-2 often unleashes a devastating series of host events in the lungs prior to death. These events include runaway inflammation and rampant tissue destruction that the lungs cannot repair.

Organ transplant recipients remain vulnerable to COVID-19 even after second vaccine dose

May 6 - May 6 - In a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers show that although two doses of a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 -- the virus that causes COVID 19 -- confers some protection for people who have received solid organ transplants, it's still not enough to enable them to dispense with masks, physical distancing and other safety measures.

Hot off the Press

«HOT OFF THE PRESS»
RECENT PUBLICATIONS IDENTIFIED
BY TTS EDUCATION COMMITTEE ON COVID-19

Selected Publications by TTS Education Committee. This week's selection made by Drs. Enver Akalin and Marlies Reinders.

Immunogenicity of the BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine in Heart Transplanted Patients-A Prospective Cohort Study.

Carolina Lucas et al.
Nat Med., 2021 May 5. doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01355-0. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33953384

This study analyzed humoral immune responses in 229 patients with asymptomatic, mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 over time to probe the nature of antibody responses in disease severity and mortality. We observed a correlation between anti-spike (S) immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, length of hospitalization and clinical parameters associated with worse clinical progression. Although high anti-S IgG levels correlated with worse disease severity, such correlation was time dependent. Deceased patients did not have higher overall humoral response than discharged patients. However, they mounted a robust, yet delayed, response, measured by anti-S, anti-receptor-binding domain IgG and neutralizing antibody (NAb) levels compared to survivors. Delayed seroconversion kinetics correlated with impaired viral control in deceased patients. Finally, although sera from 85% of patients displayed some neutralization capacity during their disease course, NAb generation before 14 d of disease onset emerged as a key factor for recovery. These data indicate that COVID-19 mortality does not correlate with the cross-sectional antiviral antibody levels per se but, rather, with the delayed kinetics of NAb production.

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Antibody Response to 2-Dose SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccine Series in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

Boyarsky BJ et al.
JAMA. 2021 May 5. doi: 10.1001/jama.2021.7489. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33950155

This study analyzed 658 transplant recipients who received 2 doses of SARS-CoV-2mRNAvaccine. At a median (IQR) of 29 (28-31) days after dose 2, antibody was detectable in 357 participants (54%) (95% CI, 50%-58%). Among the 473 receiving antimetabolites, 38 participants (8%) had antibody response after dose 1 and dose 2; 268 (57%) had no antibody response after dose 1 or dose 2; and 167 (35%) had no antibody response after dose 1 but subsequent antibody after dose 2. Among the 185 participants not receiving antimetabolites, 60 (32%) had antibody response after dose 1 and dose 2; 33 (18%) had no antibody response after dose 1 or dose 2; and 92 (50%) had no antibody response after dose 1 but subsequent antibody after dose 2.

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