Calcineurin inhibitors: 40 years later, can't live without ...

Calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) revolutionized the field of organ transplantation and remain the standard of care 40 years after the discovery of cyclosporine. The early impressive results of cyclosporine in kidney transplant recipients led to its subsequent use in other organ transplant recipients and for treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases as well. In this review, we examine the discovery of CNIs, their mechanism of action, preclinical and clinical studies with CNIs, and the usage of CNIs in nontransplant recipients. We review the mechanisms of renal toxicity associated with CNIs and the recent efforts to avoid or reduce usage of these drugs. Although minimization strategies are possible, safe, and of potential long-term benefit, complete avoidance of CNIs has proven to be more challenging than initially thought.

Hartmann Stahelin (1925-2011) and the contested history of cyclosporin A.

The aims of this study are twofold: (i) to pay tribute to Hartmann Stahelin for his scientific research on cyclosporin A; and (ii) to consider possible lessons for future pharmacological innovation by revisiting Stahelin's personal struggles to obtain fair recognition for his contribution to transplantation medicine.

[The 50th anniversary of the first liver transplantation: from myth to reality. Tributes to Thomas Starzl, 2012 Lasker Prize]. / Le cinquantenaire de la première transplantation hépatique: du mythe à la réalité. Hommages à Thomas Starzl, Prix Lasker 2012.

Chemical immunosuppression and the reversal of rejection permit to develop kidney transplantation and were incitative to start liver transplantation in 1963. However, the difficulties were many: wrong operative indications, inadequate immunosuppression, difficulty of etiologic diagnosis of jaundice, poor preservation of the graft. Cyclosporine was the key-step of the success.

A short story of anti-rheumatic therapy. VIII. The immunodepressants.

The use of immunosuppressive drugs in rheumatology is fairly recent, starting just after the Second World War with the introduction of the first alkylating agents in oncohematology. When it became clear that some rheumatic diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, showed an immune-mediated pathogenesis, including proliferation of immunocompetent cells, an application was soon found for immunosuppressive drugs in their treatment. This review outlines the historical milestones that led to the current use of drugs belonging to the major groups of immunosuppressants, i.e. alkylating agents (cyclophosphamide), folic acid (methotrexate) and purine (azathioprine) antagonists. We will also talk about the history of cyclosporin A, the first "selective" immunosuppressive agent, and that of some immunoactive drugs used more recently in rheumatology, such as mycophenolate mofetil, dapson and thalidomide, is briefly described.

[Serendipity, beneficial error, and chance in the development of kidney transplantation]. / Le hasard, l'erreur profitable, la chance dans le développement de la transplantation renale.

Serendipity played an essential role in two major developments of organ transplantation: the method of continuous hypothermic perfusion of the kidney and the introduction of ciclosporin in the clinical setting. An erroneous reasoning lead to the creation of an efficient preservation fluid: Collins's solution. However, these investigations would have failed without the open-mindedness and the tenacity of the clinicians.

Forty years of publication of transplantation proceedings--the second decade: the cyclosporine revolution.

With surgical tools in place, increased knowledge concerning immunogenetics and alloimmunity as well as improved management of immunocompromised patients, the foundations were lain for the rapid development of the transplantation enterprise. In contrast to pre-transplant conditioning by thoracic duct drainage or total lymphoid irradiation, which were too cumbersome for routine execution among the burgeoning recipient pool, cyclosporine was a facile method to produce immunosuppression de novo after transplantation. On the one hand, clinical data confirmed the potency of cyclosporine in a variety of clinical settings. On the other hand, a pleiotropic array of side effects, particularly nephrotoxicity, beclouded the regimens, even when used in reduced doses in combination with azathioprine or together with rigorous individualization of therapy by concentration control. The advent of cyclosporine condemned conditioning by pretransplant blood transfusions and donor-recipient HLA matching to therapeutic obsolescence. However, cross-matching achieved greater significance particularly due to the development of flow cytometry methods to detect modest amounts of anti-donor antibody. Adjunctive treatments with polyclonal preparations or monoclonal antibodies were developed to provide an additional layer of security during the critical induction phase of immunosuppression and for treatment of rejection episodes refractory to high dose steroid therapy. Active immunologic investigation was stimulated by antibodies that discriminated CD4+ versus CD8+ T cells, leading to dissection of their numbers of precursors or mature elements as well as their distinct activities. The search for methods to induce, maintain and detect the state of transplantation tolerance continued. The encouraging results in clinical transplantation raised a variety of ethical concerns related to public attitudes; to retrieval, distribution, and allocation of the limited supply of deceased donor organs; the increased utilization of living persons; the opportunities for commerce; the quasi-righteous requests for organ gifts by unrelated individuals and the scant financial resources for long-term treatment with costly immunosuppression. Transplantation had now achieved its rightful place in the clinical armamentarium.

History of solid organ transplantation and organ donation.

Solid organ transplantation is one of the most remarkable and dramatic therapeutic advances in medicine during the past 60 years. This field has progressed initially from what can accurately be termed a "clinical experiment" to routine and reliable practice, which has proven to be clinically effective, life-saving and cost-effective. This remarkable evolution stems from a serial confluence of: cultural acceptance; legal and political evolution to facilitate organ donation, procurement and allocation; technical and cognitive advances in organ preservation, surgery, immunology, immunosuppression; and management of infectious diseases. Some of the major milestones of this multidisciplinary clinical science are reviewed in this article.

Post-transplant de novo malignancies in renal transplant recipients: the past and present.

Post-transplant de novo malignancies are reviewed in three time periods: (i) the azathioprine (AZA) era from 1962 to 1980-1981, (ii) the cyclosporine (CYA) era (1980 to present) in which the calcineurin inhibitors, CYA and tacrolimus (TAC), were the mainstay of recipient immunosuppression, and (iii) the TOR inhibitor era starting in the year 2000. Both transplant registry and transplant center reports on malignancies occurring in the AZA era are reviewed. Reports from transplant centers and from the Cincinnati Transplant Tumor Registry (CTTR) in both the early CYA era (1980s) and the 1900-2000 CYA era are reported. Cancer incidence associated with AZA versus CYA, CYA versus TAC, and AZA versus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is compared in both transplant center and registry reports including new, unreported Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) data from 1998 to 2003. The malignancy incidence associated with lymphocyte-depleting antibody and corticosteroid immunosuppression is discussed. Reduced malignancy incidence recently reported with TOR inhibitors is compared with that of conventional immunosuppression. Important nondrug factors influencing the incidence of post-transplant malignancies from seven single and three registry reports are detailed. The substantial role that de novo malignancies play in post-transplant mortality is discussed. Finally, management recommendations for recipients who develop de novo post-transplant malignancies are briefly presented.

1954.

1954 marked the most important year for modern transplantation. It represented the date in which the first successful live kidney transplant was performed by the devoted group of Joseph Murray, Hartwell Harrison, and their Peter Bent Brigham associates in Boston. Intense preparation and careful analysis was required for a long time to arrive at the resounding success manifested in the case of the Herrick twin brothers. Years later, only the discovery of chemical immunosuppression such as azathioprine and the use of radiation therapy permitted occasional good results in kidney transplantation. Great contributors of this period included Elion and Hitchings, Calne and Zukowski, Woodruff, Goodwin, and many others. In a few more years, the use of steroids and an antilymphocyte preparation by the committed team of Tom Starzl from Colorado improved the opportunities for patient outcome. The latter part of the 1960s witnessed the maturation of the Minnesota program with the arrival of John Najarian from California. The 1970s introduced different morbidity and mortality associated with immunosuppressive treatment, and required adjustments in patient management were necessary. New advances were to come in years ahead.

History of C2 monitoring in heart and liver transplant patients treated with cyclosporine microemulsion.

Therapeutic drug monitoring of CsA has evolved since the introduction of CsA microemulsion. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the history of CsA concentration 2 hours postdose (C2) monitoring in heart and liver transplantation. C2 has been shown to be the best single time point that correlates with the area-under-the-curve, with a correlation coefficient (r2) ranging between .83 and.93. C2 monitoring (300 to 600 ng/mL) has resulted in a significant clinical benefit in long-term heart and liver transplant patients compared to trough level (C0) monitoring. Moreover, a C2 range of 300 to 600 ng/mL resulted in a similar calcineurin inhibition compared to a C2 range of 700 to 1000 ng/mL or a C0 range of 100 to 200 ng/mL while being less injurious to renal function. In de novo liver transplant patients not receiving induction therapy, the achievement of a target C2 of 850 to 1400 ng/mL by postoperative day 3 has resulted in a low acute rejection rate. Furthermore, C2 monitoring has been associated with a lower rejection rate in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-negative patients and with an overall lesser severity of acute rejection compared to C0 monitoring. In de novo heart transplant patients who receive antithymocyte globulin induction, a lower C2 range may be sufficient to prevent rejection and renal dysfunction. Future studies should help to fine-tune the optimal C2 range in heart or liver transplant patients receiving induction therapy and different maintenance immunosuppressive combinations.

The controversial early history of cyclosporin.

The biological effects of cyclosporin, namely immunosuppression and absence of cytotoxicity, were discovered-in the course of a general screening program in which many scientists at Sandoz were involved. Contrary to some statements in the literature both Dr J. Borel and Dr H. Stähelin markedly contributed to the discovery and characterisation of the biological profile of the drug. In its subsequent exploitation Borel played the leading role. The outstanding clinical importance and the extraordinary commercial success of cyclosporin explain the widespread interest in the history of its discovery and development. It is also understandable that the recollection of the events by the individuals involved in the early phases of this history is influenced by subjective impressions and interpretations, which do not always reflect the historical facts. It is the purpose of this report to record and interpret the facts as accurately and as completely as possible on the basis of the available records.