Amphiphilic polymer coating can suppress immune reactions in kidney transplantation
A research group led by Research Group Leader, Yuji Teramura, in collaboration with iCoat Medical AB and Uppsala University in Sweden, have developed a technology that suppresses ischemia-reperfusion injury occurring after kidney transplantation by coating the vascular endothelium with amphiphilic polymers.
Kidney transplantation is the only treatment enabling patients with severe renal disease to avoid dialysis, so that it is crucial that the transplanted kidney engrafts and functions long-term in the patient's body. In order to address this issue, we need to suppress the immune response that causes organ damage during transplantation. In this study, we applied a coating technology using PEG lipids—a amphiphilic polymer composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and phospholipids—to the vascular endothelial surface in the kidney. From animal experiments using pigs, we demonstrated that this polymer coating can suppress ischemia-reperfusion injury, one of the immune responses occurring after transplantation.
Since no drugs capable of suppressing ischemia-reperfusion injury have been identified, the outcomes are highly dependent on the experience and technique of the transplant surgeons. The developed coating technology is expected to contribute to improving the graft survival rate in human kidney transplantation. Clinical trials using this coating technology are currently underway.
Details of this technology are published online in American Journal of Transplantation on September 24, 2025.
*For more details, please see the press release below.
Press Release
Collaboration
iCoat Medical AB, Uppsala University (Sweden)
Publication
Title: A new principle to attenuate ischemia reperfusion injury in kidney transplantation
Authors: Ali-Reza Biglarnia*, Yuji Teramura*(*equally contributed), Sana Asif, Claudia Dührkop, Vivek Arnand Manivel, Elin Manell, Patricia Hedenqvist, Anneli Rydén, Felix Sellberg, Karin Fromell, Sabine Hammer, Markus Huber-Lang, Kristina N Ekdahl, Marianne Jensen-Waern, Bo Nilsson
Journal: American Journal of Transplantation, 24th September 2025