At Med #GrandRounds today @nyugrossman, Megan Sykes, MD, of @ColumbiaMed and @NYULH_DeptofMed gave an outstanding talk on xenotransplantation and immune tolerance in GalT KO thymokidney transplants, highlighting the complexities of T cell dynamics, donor tolerance, and immune response post-transplant. Key Takeaways: ▶️Pre-existing donor-reactive T cell clones expanded markedly and may have contributed to an apparent AMR episode in the decedent. ▶️Donor-reactive T cell clones expanded in the living xenograft recipient and appeared in the kidney biopsy and urine. ▶️Both the decedent and the living patient showed evidence for donor-specific hyporesponsiveness in post-transplant MLR. ▶️The living patient recovered a surprising level of recent thymic emigrants in the periphery. ▶️The recipients showed evidence for human thymopoiesis in the porcine thymic graft of the thymokidney. ▶️These results suggest that the porcine thymus generated donor-tolerant recipient T cells (and Tregs?) but that the peripheral pre-existing T cell repertoire was not adequately controlled.

Thank you to our amazing faculty & alumni who joined us at the Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship Dinner @nyugrossman! We introduced our 1st-year medical students to dozens of the Department of Medicine’s diverse research opportunities. Our 2nd-year alumni blew us away with their oral presentations, the Division Directors shared invaluable insights, and our students fostered meaningful connections with faculty. A fantastic evening inspiring future clinician-scientists! #NYULangoneHealth #MedEd #Research #MedicineMentorship #CareerExploration