Methods and Compositions for Determining a Graft Tolerant Phenotype in a Subject

Abstract

Methods are provided for determining whether a subject has a graft tolerant phenotype. In practicing the subject methods, the expression of at least one gene in a sample from the subject, e.g., a blood sample, is assayed to obtain an expression evaluation for the at least one gene. The obtained expression evaluation is then employed to determine whether the subject has a graft tolerant phenotype. Also provides are compositions, systems and kits that find use in practicing the subject methods. The methods and compositions find use in a variety of applications, including the determination of an immunosuppressive therapy regimen.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119 (e), this application claims priority to the filing date of the United States Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 571,471 filed May 14, 2004 and to the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60 / 538,439 filed on Jan. 21, 2004; the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.INTRODUCTIONBackground of the Invention[0002]Transplantation of a graft organ or tissue from a donor to a host patient is a feature of certain medical procedures and treatment protocols. Despite efforts to avoid graft rejection through host-donor tissue type matching, in transplantation procedures where a donor organ is introduced into a host, immunosuppressive therapy is generally required to the maintain viability of the donor organ in the host.[0003]A variety of immunosuppressive agents have been employed in transplantation procedures, including azathioprine, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, FK-506, ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]Also provided is a method of managing immunosuppressive therapy in a subject having a graft, where the method includes: (a) evaluating whether the subject has an graft tolerant phenotype; and (b) determining a future immunosuppressive therapy protocol based on the evaluation of step (a) to manage immunosuppressive therapy in said subject. In certain embodiments

Problems solved by technology

While use of immunosuppressive agents, such as Cyclosporin A, has been reported to prolong the survival of allogeneic transplants involving skin, heart, kidney, pancreas, bone marrow, small intestine and l

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