Tolerance Inducing Effects Of Cmv Hyperimmunoglobulin Containing Drugs

Cytomegalovirus hyperimmunoglobulin (CMVIg) containing drugs are routinely administered in solid organ transplantation for prophylaxis against CMV disease. Yet little is known about their influence on transplant relevant immune functions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of CMVIg on cellular immunity in vitro and to define their role in tolerance inducing mechanisms. Our results show that CMVIg induce immunological features on leukocytes in vitro, which are known to be related to tolerance induction in vivo. These observations extend the current concept of CMVIg as passive CMV prophylaxis to a therapeutic drug compound capable to reduce allogeneic immune response.