Latest News

Doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital have enrolled the first of 15 planned patients in the ITN's expanded clinical trial of mixed chimerism, a technique designed to replace the need for long-term immunosuppression in kidney transplantation. The patient, who suffered from end-stage renal failure caused by Alport's Syndrome, received bone marrow and a kidney from the same living donor on January 27, 2009. Both donor and recipient are currently doing well. The current study is an expanded, follow-up study to a previous ITN-sponsored trial where 4 of 5 subjects were able to stop immunosuppression for up to 5 years, as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2008.

The Feinstein Institute in New York City has enrolled the first patient in the Immune Tolerance Network’s ACCESS clinical trial of abatacept and cyclophosphamide for lupus nephritis. The study is seeking to enroll 100 participants at clinical centers across the US and Mexico over the next three years.

As you may have noticed, the Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) website has undergone some pretty major changes. We hope you enjoy the new look and will find the new site easier to navigate and as informative as our previous versions.

In literature, a "chimera" is a creature from Greek mythology that is made of parts from different animals. Perhaps the most famous chimera is "Cerberus," the part dog, part snake who was captured by Hercules in his final labor.

A phase I study of costimulatory blocking agent CTLA4Ig shows that the treatment appears safe for use in multiple sclerosis (MS) and that it can induce favorable immunologic changes. Results from the ITN-led study were published in the September 16, 2008 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Neurology.

Subject enrollment in the ITN's study of immunosuppression withdrawal in pediatric liver transplantation was completed this month, with the enrollment of the 20th and final subject.

In an ITN study of combined kidney and bone marrow transplantation, four of five subjects studied were able to be removed from all anti-rejection medications and maintain functioning kidney transplants. The study was led by Drs. David Sachs and Ben Cosimi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and published in the January 24, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The results of an Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) study, published in the October 5, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggest that a six-week experimental allergy treatment can relieve hay fever symptoms for at least two years. The researchers believe that the six-injection immunotherapy regimen with a novel DNA-based drug known as ‘AIC’ could offer a significant improvement over traditional allergen immunotherapy, which can require several years of weekly or bi-weekly injections.

The results of the world's first multicenter clinical trial of islet transplantation have confirmed the technique's potential benefits in patients with difficult-to-control type 1 (or "juvenile") diabetes. Published in the September 28, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the international team of investigators report that the Edmonton Protocol for islet transplantation can safely and successfully promote long-term stabilization of blood sugar levels in "brittle" diabetes patients and in some cases, relieve them of the need for insulin injections altogether for at least two years.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the world's leading charitable supporter of research into type 1 diabetes and its complications, today announced a new, 5-year $15 million joint funding program with the NIH-supported Immune Tolerance Network (ITN) that is aimed at accelerating the pace of clinical research towards a cure for type 1 diabetes.  The JDRF-ITN Partnership in Immune Tolerance program will fund early-stage clinical trials and late stage preclinical development of potential immune tolerance-inducing treatments for type 1 diabetes.  Applications for support will be accepted on an ongoing basis through the ITN website beginning today.