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Montano-Loza AJ, Corpechot C, Burra P, Schramm C, Selzner N, Ronca V, Oo YH. Recurrence of autoimmune liver diseases after liver transplantation: Review and expert opinion statement. Liver Transpl 2024:01445473-990000000-00399. [PMID: 38857316 DOI: 10.1097/lvt.0000000000000419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/12/2024]
Abstract
Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) constitute the fourth most common indication for liver transplantation (LT) across the world. In general, the outcomes after LT are acceptable; however, disease recurrence after LT is common for all AILD, which can negatively affect graft and overall survival. Several questions persist, including the risk factors associated with recurrent disease, optimal antirejection medications, strategies to reduce the risk of recurrence, and how to best incorporate these strategies into clinical practice. For that reason, we assembled an international group of experts to review evidence to address these outstanding questions regarding LT for AILD. Survival rates after LT are ~90% and 70% at 1 and 5 years, and recurrent disease occurs in 10%-50% of patients with AILD. In patients with disease recurrence, graft survival decreased by 18% and 28% and overall survival by 8% and 12% at 5 and 10 years after LT, respectively. Recurrent autoimmune hepatitis is associated with high aminotransferases and immunoglobulin G (IgG) before LT, lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates in the explants, and may be associated with the absence of steroids after LT. However, the efficiency and safety of triple immunosuppressive maintenance therapy is still debatable. Younger age at diagnosis with primary biliary cholangitis or LT is associated with primary biliary cholangitis recurrence. Preventive use of ursodeoxycholic acid reduces the risk of recurrence and has a benefit in graft and patient survival. Episodes of systemic inflammation, including T-cell-mediated rejection, active ulcerative colitis, and episodes of cholangitis, are associated with recurrent PSC. Recurrent disease for AILD is associated with worse graft and patient survival. Patients with autoimmune hepatitis could be considered for long-term low-dose predniso(lo)ne, whereas patients with primary biliary cholangitis should be placed on preventive ursodeoxycholic acid after LT. There are no specific treatments for PSC recurrence; however, adequate control of inflammatory bowel disease and optimal immunosuppression to avoid T-cell-mediated rejection should be encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aldo J Montano-Loza
- Division of Gastroenterology and Liver Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Christophe Corpechot
- Reference Center for Inflammatory Biliary Diseases and Autoimmune Hepatitis, European Reference Network for Hepatological Diseases (ERN RARE-LIVER), Saint-Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris; Inserm UMR_S938, Saint-Antoine Research Center, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
| | - Patrizia Burra
- Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, European Reference Network for Hepatological Diseases (ERN RARE-LIVER), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Christoph Schramm
- Martin Zeitz Center for Rare Diseases, and 1st Department of Medicine, European Reference Network for Hepatological Diseases (ERN RARE-LIVER), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nazia Selzner
- Ajmera Transplant Center, University of Toronto, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vincenzo Ronca
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy
- IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy
| | - Ye H Oo
- Center for Liver and Gastro Research & National Institute of Health Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham; Centre for Rare Disease and ERN Rare Liver Centre, Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Unit, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
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Kasraianfard A, Moradi AM, Nassiri-Toosi M, Jafarian A. Liver Transplant in Patients With Autoimmune Hepatitis: A Large Single-Center Study. EXP CLIN TRANSPLANT 2024; 22:247-251. [PMID: 38385406 DOI: 10.6002/ect.mesot2023.p65] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Autoimmune hepatitis is a rare indication for liver transplant in Western countries. Our goal was to identify characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent liver transplant for autoimmune hepatitis-related end-stage liver disease at our center. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult patients who underwent primary liver transplant from January 2007 to March 2022 at Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, were enrolled in our study. RESULTS Among 1107 patients enrolled in our study, mean age was 45.94 ± 12.43 years (range, 16-73 years) and 423 (38.2%) female patients were included. Autoimmune hepatitis was the underlying cause of cirrhosis in 177 patients (experimental group); the other 930 patients did not have autoimmune hepatitis (control group). All patients were followed for a median of 60 ± 40.3 months (range, 3-187 months) after transplant. In the experimental group, patient survival rates at 1 month, 1 year, and 3 years were 87%, 81%, and 78%, which were not significantly different between the 2 groups (P = .445). Recurrence of autoimmune hepatitis was detected in 8 patients (4.5%) in the experimental group. Acute allograft rejection was more significantly detected in the patients with recurrence of autoimmune hepatitis than in patients without recurrence of autoimmune hepatitis. CONCLUSIONS Liver transplant in patients with autoimmune hepatitis is safe and is associated with good outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Kasraianfard
- From the Liver Transplantation Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and the and Hepatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation Division, Department of General Surgery, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran, Iran
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Kelly C, Zen Y, Heneghan MA. Post-Transplant Immunosuppression in Autoimmune Liver Disease. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2023; 13:350-359. [PMID: 36950491 PMCID: PMC10025678 DOI: 10.1016/j.jceh.2022.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) are a group of conditions where immune-mediated liver damage can lead to the need for transplantation. Collectively, they account for almost a quarter of all liver transplants. Outcomes in terms of graft and patient survival for all liver transplants have improved markedly over decades with improvements in patient selection, surgical techniques and longer-term care and this is also seen in patients with AILDs. The current five- and ten-year survival rates post-transplant in autoimmune disease are excellent, at 88% and 78%, respectively. A key factor in maintaining good outcomes post liver transplant for these autoimmune conditions is the immunosuppression strategy. These patients have increased the rates of rejection, and autoimmune conditions can all recur in the graft ranging from 12 to 60% depending on the population studied. Immunosuppressive regimens are centred on calcineurin inhibitors, often combined with low dose corticosteroids, with or without the addition of antimetabolite therapy. There is no clear evidence-based immunosuppressive regimen for these conditions, and a tailored approach balancing the individuals' immunological profile against the risks of immunosuppression is often used. There are disease-specific considerations to optimised graft function including the role of ursodeoxycholic acid in both primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis and the role and timing of colectomy in primary sclerosing cholangitis in inflammatory bowel disease patients. However, unmet needs still exist in the management of AILDs post liver transplantation particularly in building the evidence base for optimal immunosuppression as well as mitigating the risk of recurrent disease.
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Key Words
- AIH, Autoimmune hepatitis
- AILD, Autoimmune liver disease
- CNI, Calcineurin inhibitors
- IBD, Inflammatory bowel disease
- LT, Liver transplantation
- PBC, Primary biliary cholangitis
- PSC, Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- autoimmune liver disease
- immunosuppression
- rAIH, Recurrent autoimmune hepatitis
- rPBC, Recurrent primary biliary cholangitis
- rPSC, Recurrent primary sclerosing cholangitis
- transplantation
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Kelly
- Institute of Liver Studies, Kings College Hospital, London, UK
| | - Yoh Zen
- Institute of Liver Studies, Kings College Hospital, London, UK
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Gumm A, Perez‐Atayde A, Wehrman A. Posttransplant considerations in autoimmune liver disease: Recurrence of disease and de novo. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken) 2022; 20:130-135. [PMID: 36245678 PMCID: PMC9549300 DOI: 10.1002/cld.1239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Gumm
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and NutritionDepartment of PediatricsBoston Children's HospitalBostonMassachusettsUSA
| | | | - Andrew Wehrman
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and NutritionDepartment of PediatricsBoston Children's HospitalBostonMassachusettsUSA
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Do Patients with Autoimmune Conditions Have Less Access to Liver Transplantation despite Superior Outcomes? J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12071159. [PMID: 35887656 PMCID: PMC9320508 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12071159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is a lifesaving therapy for patients with irreversible liver damage caused by autoimmune liver diseases (AutoD) including autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Currently, it is unclear how access to transplantation differs among patients with various etiologies of liver disease. Our aim is to evaluate the likelihood of transplant and the long-term patient and graft survival after OLT for each etiology for transplantation from 2000 to 2021. We conducted a large retrospective study of United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver transplant patients in five 4-year eras with five cohorts: AutoD (PBC, PSC, AIH cirrhosis), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), viral hepatitis, and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We conducted a multivariate analysis for probability of transplant. Intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis was performed to assess the 10-year survival differences for each listing diagnosis while accounting for both waitlist and post-transplant survival. Across all eras, autoimmune conditions had a lower adjusted probability of transplant of 0.92 (0.92, 0.93) compared to ALD 0.97 (0.97, 0.97), HCC 1.08 (1.07, 1.08), viral hepatitis 0.99 (0.99, 0.99), and NASH 0.99 (0.99, 1.00). Patients with AutoD had significantly better post-transplant patient and graft survival than ALD, HCC, viral hepatitis, and NASH in each and across all eras (p-values all < 0.001). Patients with AutoD had superior ITT survival (p-value < 0.001, log rank test). In addition, the waitlist survival for patients with AutoD compared to other listing diagnoses was improved with the exception of ALD, which showed no significant difference (p-value = 0.1056, log rank test). Despite a superior 10-year graft and patient survival in patients transplanted for AutoD, patients with AutoD have a significantly lower probability of receiving a liver transplant compared to those transplanted for HCC, ALD, viral hepatitis, and NASH. Patients with AutoD may benefit from improved liver allocation while maintaining superior waitlist and post-transplant survival. Decreased access in spite of appropriate outcomes for patients poses a significant risk for increased morbidity for patients with AutoD.
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Nakamura T, Shirouzu T. Antibody-Mediated Rejection and Recurrent Primary Disease: Two Main Obstacles in Abdominal Kidney, Liver, and Pancreas Transplants. J Clin Med 2021; 10:5417. [PMID: 34830699 PMCID: PMC8619797 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10225417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The advances in acute phase care have firmly established the practice of organ transplantation in the last several decades. Then, the next issues that loom large in the field of transplantation include antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) and recurrent primary disease. Acute ABMR is a daunting hurdle in the performance of organ transplantation. The recent progress in desensitization and preoperative monitoring of donor-specific antibodies enables us to increase positive outcomes. However, chronic active ABMR is one of the most significant problems we currently face. On the other hand, recurrent primary disease is problematic for many recipients. Notably, some recipients, unfortunately, lost their vital organs due to this recurrence. Although some progress has been achieved in these two areas, many other factors remain largely obscure. In this review, these two topics will be discussed in light of recent discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsukasa Nakamura
- Department of Organ Transplantation and General Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kajii-cho 465, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
| | - Takayuki Shirouzu
- Molecular Diagnositcs Division, Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 13-4 Arakicho, shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0007, Japan;
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Abstract
Autoimmune liver diseases are characterized by immune-mediated inflammation and eventual destruction of the hepatocytes and the biliary epithelial cells. They can progress to irreversible liver damage requiring liver transplantation. The post-liver transplant goals of treatment include improving the recipient’s survival, preventing liver graft-failure, and decreasing the recurrence of the disease. The keystone in post-liver transplant management for autoimmune liver diseases relies on identifying which would be the most appropriate immunosuppressive maintenance therapy. The combination of a steroid and a calcineurin inhibitor is the current immunosuppressive regimen of choice for autoimmune hepatitis. A gradual withdrawal of glucocorticoids is also recommended. On the other hand, ursodeoxycholic acid should be initiated soon after liver transplant to prevent recurrence and improve graft and patient survival in primary biliary cholangitis recipients. Unlike the previously mentioned autoimmune diseases, there are not immunosuppressive or disease-modifying agents available for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis. However, colectomy and annual colonoscopy are key components during the post-liver transplant period.
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