Clinical Research Directory

Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of the GGTA1 KO Thymokidney in Patients With ESRD

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the GGTA1 KO Thymokidney in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are either not eligible for conventional allogeneic kidney transplantation (Group 1) or are on an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) kidney transplant waitlist, but are more likely to die or go untransplanted within 5 years than receive a kidney transplant (Group 2). The study consists of xenotransplantation followed by a 24-week Post-transplant Follow-up Period (Part A) to evaluate the efficacy and safety objectives followed by a Long-term Follow-up Period (Part B) to evaluate participant survival, GGTA1 KO Thymokidney survival, and screening for zoonotic infections. Part B will continue for the lifetime of the participant or for 52 weeks following nephrectomy, if required.

TTV-based mAnagement Of Long-term ImmunosuppreSsion in Kidney Transplantation

Long-term outcomes in kidney transplantation remain a significant challenge, as complications such as donor-specific antibodies (DSA), antibody-mediated rejection, infections, and cancer increasingly threaten graft and patient survival over time. The development of non-invasive biomarkers to guide the management of therapeutic immunosuppression beyond the first year post-transplantation is therefore a crucial unmet need. Torque Teno Virus (TTV), a non-pathogenic virus with a high prevalence worldwide, has emerged as a promising biomarker in this context. Its replication inversely reflects immune control by T cells, correlating with the depth of therapeutic immunosuppression. Additionally, its slow replication kinetics make TTV DNAemia a useful marker for evaluating patient adherence to immunosuppressive treatments. The TAOIST study tests whether longitudinal monitoring of TTV DNAemia every six months, starting from the second year after transplantation, can guide the personalization of immunosuppressive therapy. The primary endpoint is the time to the first occurrence of complications linked to inadequate immunosuppression, including dnDSA, biopsy-proven rejection, infection, cancer, or graft loss. Secondary objectives include evaluating the acceptability of TTV DNAemia among healthcare professionals and assessing its cost-effectiveness compared to standard care. An ancillary objective examines the link between TTV DNAemia and the immunosuppressant possession ratio (IPR) to explore its potential as a marker of treatment adherence.

EVOLUTION IN FRAGILITY IN PEOPLE ON THE WAITING LIST FOR A KIDNEY TRANSPLANT

This study looks at how the physical and emotional health of people changes while they wait for a kidney transplant. Waiting for an organ can take a long time. During this period, some patients become "frail." This means they lose strength and are at a higher risk for health problems. The main goal is to follow these patients over time to better understand their needs. Researchers will use a mobile app to collect information directly from patients about how they feel and their quality of life. The study will also include personal interviews to learn about the patients' experiences and any difficulties they face when using technology. The results of this study will help to: * Identify early which patients are losing strength or health. * Improve the support that nurses provide during the transplant waiting period. * Make sure that digital health tools are easy for everyone to use. In short, this work aims to help patients reach the day of their surgery in the best possible condition.

Muscle Ultrasound for Sarcopenia Assessment in Kidney Transplant Recipients

This is a single-center prospective observational study designed to evaluate the effectiveness of multimodal muscle ultrasound for the assessment of sarcopenia in kidney transplant recipients. Adult patients undergoing kidney transplantation will undergo both muscle ultrasound and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) at predefined time points before and after transplantation. The primary objective is to evaluate the diagnostic performance of muscle ultrasound for sarcopenia assessment, including its correlation and agreement with BIA-derived skeletal muscle index (BIA-SMI), as well as its diagnostic accuracy. Secondary objectives include describing the longitudinal changes in sarcopenia prevalence and muscle-related parameters from the pre-transplant period to 1 year after transplantation. The study aims to provide evidence for a convenient, noninvasive, radiation-free, and reliable method for sarcopenia assessment in kidney transplant recipients.

Mass Spectrometry-based Proteomics in Microvascular Inflammation Diagnosis in Kidney Transplantation.

Microvascular inflammation, the hallmark histological criteria of antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplantation, remains an issue in routine practice, due to a lack of reproducibility in its recognition by pathologists and an incomplete comprehension of its pathophysiology, leading to a poor treatment efficacy. The main objective of this study is to assess the performances of tissue proteic signatures designed for the diagnosis of microvascular inflammation in kidney transplantation, from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) allograft biopsies analyzed by mass spectrometry-based proteomics.

Observational Cohort Study Renal Transplantation University Hospitals Leuven

This observational cohort study aims to compile routinely collected clinical, histological and outcome data of kidney transplant recipients, to evaluate risk factors for post-transplant injury, phenotypes of injury, and impact on outcome of such injury, in order to provide clinicians more accurate, less biased and faster tools for diagnosis, clinical management and treatment decisions with regard to kidney transplant rejection.

Kidney Transplant Improvement Through New Exercise Training to Increase Capacity

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a home-based exercise program can be safely and feasibly used to improve physical activity and physical function in adults waiting for a kidney transplant. The study will also learn how acceptable and useful this program is for participants. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can a remote exercise program be delivered successfully to people on the kidney transplant waiting list? * Do participants follow the exercise program and wear a physical activity tracker as asked? * Is the program safe and well tolerated? Researchers will compare two groups to see if the exercise program leads to higher physical activity and better physical function: * Usual pre-transplant care with a physical activity tracker * Usual pre-transplant care plus an online exercise program Participants will: * Wear a wrist activity tracker to measure daily physical activity * Complete a one-week baseline period before being assigned to a study group * Be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to one of two groups * If assigned to the exercise group, take part in online exercise classes at home for 12 weeks with reminders and feedback, and then another 12 weeks without reminders and feedback * Answer questionnaires about their health, activity, and experience in the study This study may help researchers learn how to better support people waiting for kidney transplant through safe, home-based exercise programs.

Eight-Treg Study:Trial of Adoptive Immunotherapy With Autologous ex Vivo Expanded Regulatory CD8+ T Cells in Living Donor Kidney Transplant Recipients

The only curative treatment for end-stage renal disease is through kidney transplantation. Solid organ transplants success had been made possible by the development of Immunosuppressive (IS) drugs. However, the long-term survival of transplants is still shortened by the chronic dysfunction of the graft which is not prevented by current IS regimens. Moreover, these IS drugs increase the risk of opportunistic infections and malignancies, and have many non-immune side-effects that hamper their tolerability. New research strategies are, therefore, developed with the aim of reducing the dependence on conventional pharmacological IS drugs. Regulatory cell therapy is one of these strategies. It consists of expanding specific populations of immune regulatory cells ex vivo into cell-based drugs that can then be infused into transplant recipients, with the goal of inducing graft tolerance. This is the framework of this clinical trial. The experimental drug "Eight Treg" being evaluated in this study is an autologous cell therapy product containing CD8+ regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) expanded ex vivo during 21 days of cell culture. Team 2 of the Center for Research in Transplantation and Translational Immunology (CR2TI), Nantes University, INSERM, Mixed Research Unit (UMR) 1064, responsible for developing the manufacturing process of the experimental drug "Eight Treg", has demonstrated the feasibility of the expansion of CD8+ Tregs ex vivo and their ability to prevent skin graft rejection and inhibit Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) in NOD-Scid-IL-2γ-/- mouse models (NSG)14. Based on the preclinical experience of CR2TI team 2, which has been working on basic and translational aspects of CD8+ Tregs for 15 years, the present phase I clinical trial aims to assess the safety of increasing doses of the experimental drug "Eight Treg" in 9 recipients of renal transplantation from a living donor. The possibility of manufacturing the experimental drug "Eight Treg" at the required doses, in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Process (GMP), has been assessed in validation runs as specified at the end of the "justification of the study" part of this protocol. This clinical trial will be the first administration of expanded CD8+ Tregs into humans, and it follows previous studies which evaluated the safety of other regulatory cell therapy products, containing expanded CD4+ Tregs and other regulatory cells (autologous tolerogenic dendritic cells performed by Nantes CHU laboratory and clinical services, for example), injected into patients in different contexts (renal transplantation, liver transplantation, GVHD, type 1 diabetes, etc) without causing any significant adverse effect. This study will pave the way for future, broader research on the use of CD8+ Tregs as a possible anti-rejection and tolerance inducer "drug" in transplantation.

Testing the Feasibility of a Self-Management Support Program for Patient With Chronic Diseases in Israel

This study explores an intervention to support people in Israel who are living with chronic health conditions such as cancer or after kidney transplantation. It focuses on a well-known international program called the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), which was developed at Stanford University. The program helps individuals build confidence and skills to better manage their health, feel more in control, and improve their day-to-day quality of life. Participants will take part in a six-week group program, delivered online, where they will learn practical strategies for managing symptoms like fatigue or pain, setting achievable health goals, communicating effectively with healthcare professionals, and staying active and engaged. The sessions are guided by trained facilitators and include support from others facing similar health challenges. The study will involve surveys before and after the program, as well as a follow-up six months later, to understand how the program may have helped participants. Some participants will also be invited to share their experiences in small discussion groups. By testing this program in Israel, the researchers hope to learn how it can be adapted and offered more widely to help others living with chronic conditions.

REgulatory T Cell Therapy to Achieve Immunosuppression REduction

The goal of this multi-national, multi-center, open-label, randomized Phase 2 trial is to determine the safety and efficacy of administering expanded regulatory T cells (TRK-001) to prevent allograft rejection in living donor renal transplant recipients. Enrolled subjects will be randomized to one of 2 study arms: Arm 1 subjects will receive standard of care immunosuppression Arm 2 subjects will receive initial standard of care (SOC) immunosuppression and a single infusion of TRK-001. Three months after the transplant, Arm 2 subjects may be able to begin reducing their immunosuppression medication to a 1-drug regimen. The primary outcome measures of trial are to evaluate several components indicating immunologic problems with the transplanted organ at 1-year post-transplant and to evaluate the ability for the study subjects given TRK-001 to wean to a 1-drug immunosuppression regimen. All enrolled subjects will be followed for 5 years post-transplant.

Phase 2 Study of ALXN2030 in Patients With Antibody-Mediated Rejection After Kidney Transplantation

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of ALXN2030 compared with placebo on biopsy proven histologic resolution in participants with active or chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) at Week 52.

Study to Compare the Safety and Efficacy of Sirolimus (Rapamune) to Tacrolimus (Advagraf) Associated to Mycophenolate Mofetil (CellCept) Between 12 and 36 Months After Kidney Transplantation

The use of tacrolimus in the long term as part of the immunosuppressive regimen after transplantation is associated to complications such as chronic nephrotoxicity, impaired glucose metabolism (diabetes mellitus) and an increase of the incidence of neoplasia. The conversion from a tacrolimus based therapy to a sirolimus based therapy associated with mycophenolate mofetil could improve the incidence of such complications. The aim of this study is to assess the risk/benefit ratio of this switch performed in stable renal transplant recipient between 12 months and 36 months after transplantation. The incidence of a composite endpoint (worsening of GFR evaluated by MDRD formula, incidence of cancer and diabetes) will be assessed 24 months after conversion.

MRI Technical Development and Applications in Kidney Disease

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as a non-invasive and non-contrast enhanced technique, has the potential to improve patient health care and management. The overall objective of proposed project is to: 1. develop, customize, and optimize anatomic and functional MRI methods, 2. explore the use of MRI methods to study CKD and evaluate post-transplant kidneys, and 3. investigate the potential of MRI in the diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring of the progression of renal dysfunction. In addition to direct studies of the kidney, brain MRI studies will also be performed to identify the cerebrovascular and cognitive effects of chronic renal function deficiency and medical treatment (e.g. hemodialysis and immunosuppression). The brain and kidneys have similar vascular bed, and both are susceptible to vascular injury, which provides the pathological basis for the widely recognized association of reduced renal function with prevalent cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) and cognitive impairment (CI). The MRI methods in the brain will be applied to explore the origins for widely observed CVDs and prevalent cognitive impairment (CI) in kidney disease patients.

Shared Decision Making for Kidney Transplant Candidates to Plan for an Organ Offer Decision

The goal of this pilot randomized trial is to learn about shared decision making in kidney transplant candidates. The aim of this proposal is to evaluate the Donor Plan Donor Choice tool to promote high-quality Shared Decision Making for providers and kidney transplant candidates at two transplant centers. Participants will: * Review an online education tool, Donor Plan Donor Choice. * Discuss a Kidney Offer Plan with a transplant provider. * Answer questions about willingness to consider different donor types. Researchers will compare the Shared Decision Making group to usual care to generate pilot data and implementation outcomes for a larger trial.

Shingrix in Renal Transplant Recipients

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how well the shingles vaccine (Shingrix) works and how safe it is in adults with kidney failure who are waiting for a kidney transplant, including those who later receive a transplant. The study also aims to find out whether giving an extra (third) dose of the vaccine after transplant improves protection. The main questions it aims to answer are: How strong is the body's immune response to the vaccine at different time points (about 1 month, 2 years, and 3 years after vaccination) in people waiting for a kidney transplant? Does a third dose of the vaccine after transplant improve the immune response compared to not receiving a third dose? How long does protection from the vaccine last before and after transplant? How safe is the vaccine in this group, including whether it affects transplant-related immune markers? Researchers will compare people who receive a third dose of the vaccine after transplant to those who do not receive a third dose, as well as to results from similar groups studied in the past, to see if the extra dose improves immune protection. Participants will: Be screened to see if they can take part in the study Attend about 3 to 6 study visits over approximately 30 to 37 months Receive two doses of the shingles vaccine if they have not already been vaccinated, or complete study assessments if they were vaccinated before joining If they receive a kidney transplant during the study, be randomly assigned (by chance) to receive either a third dose of the vaccine or no additional dose Complete questionnaires, have physical exams if needed, and provide blood (and urine, if applicable) samples at study visits Take part in follow-up visits to check immune response and safety, with the option to allow samples to be stored for future research Shingrix is approved for adults aged 50 and older and for younger adults with weakened immune systems. However, giving a third dose after a kidney transplant is not standard practice and is being studied in this trial.

Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of the 10 GE Xenokidney in Patients With ESRD

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the 10 GE Xenokidney in patients with ESRD who are either not eligible for conventional allogeneic kidney transplantation (Group 1) or are on an Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) kidney transplant waitlist, but are more likely to die or go untransplanted within 5 years than receive a kidney transplant (Group 2). The study consists of xenotransplantation followed by a 24-week Post-transplant Follow up Period (Part A) to evaluate the efficacy and safety objectives followed by a Long-term Follow-up Period (Part B) to evaluate participant survival, 10 GE Xenokidney survival, and screening for zoonotic infections. Part B will continue for the lifetime of the participant.

Reduced Immunosuppression in Older Renal Transplant Recipients With Trugraf®/TRAC Monitoring (RIOT Trial): A Prospective, Randomized, Multicenter Trial.

The purpose of this research is to determine the safety and efficacy of withdrawing MMF (Mycophenolate Mofetil) in kidney transplant recipients who are 55 years or older at the time of receiving a kidney transplant. We are comparing them to patients who receive the standard of care Mycophenolate Mofetil.

Impact of ExtraCorporeal Phototherapy (ECP) on Auxiliary Follicular T-lymphocytes and Circulating B-lymphocytes During Chronic AntiBody-Mediated Rejection in Kidney Transplantation.

Chronic AntiBody-Mediated Rejection (cABMR) is the leading cause of late kidney transplant loss (after 1 year of kidney transplantation). Its therapeutic management is poorly codified and there is currently no treatment referring. Extracorporeal phototherapy (ECP) is a therapeutic apheresis that involves purifying mononucleated cells in the blood, exposing them to UltraViolet A (UVA) and re-injecting them to the patient. This treatment is used as common care in the first line as part of the treatment of cutaneous T lymphoma and in the second line as part of the graft versus host reaction after bone marrow allograft. The mechanisms underlying the action of the ECP are not well known. They are mediated by the reinjection of cells exposed to UVA which enter apoptosis and induce immunomodulation. Recent work during cABMR shows that TFH lymphocytes, the maturing population of B lymphocytes, are deregulated and activated. The hypothesis is that ECP can modulate T Follicular Helper (TFH) lymphocytes during cABMR.

Study to Compare the Efficacy and Safety After Conversion to RaparoBell® or My-Rept® in Kidney Transplant Patients

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and Safety after conversion to RaparoBell® or Myrept® in patients who in renal transplant patients undergoing maintenance therapy with Mycophenolic acid.

A Study of TCD601 in the Induction of Tolerance in Renal Transplantation (PERSPECTIVE)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if TCD601 can induce allogeneic tolerance in living donor renal transplant recipients

Imlifidase for Highly Sensitized Kidney Transplant Recipients With a posItive crossmAtch Against a Deceased Donor: Results of Kidney Transplantations Performed in Accordance to the French Guidelines.

Imlifidase is a recombinant cysteine protease derived from Streptococcus pyogenes and produced in Escherichia coli, which has the ability to cleave and degrade all human IgGs. Four to six hours after imlifidase infusion, the entire IgG pool is degraded into F(ab')2 and Fc fragments. In vitro, imlifidase inhibits HLA antibody-mediated NK cell activation and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Imlifidase degrades also the IgG of the B cell Receptor (BCR), inhibiting BCR-mediated cell signal, transiently preventing memory B cell response to antigenic stimulation and their transition into antibody-producing cells. Two clinical studies have been designed to determine whether imlifidase could inactivate IgG donor-specific antibodies as a desensitization strategy in highly sensitized candidates for kidney transplantation. In the phase I/II study, 25 patients were transplanted in Sweden and United States. Among them, 18 had a positive flow cytometry crossmatch (FCXM) and 2 a positive complement-dependent cytotoxicity crossmatch (CDCXM). In the phase II study (Highdes Trial), 19 patients with an incompatible living or deceased donor from the United States, Sweden, and France were included. Among them, 7, 18, 2, and 8 had respectively a positive T-cell FCXM, positive B-cell FCXM, positive T-cell CDCXM, and positive B-cell CDCCXM. The primary efficacy endpoint was the ability of Imlifidase to convert a positive XM to a negative one. Conversion of baseline positive XM to negative within 24 h after Imlifidase treatment occurred in 89.5% (n=17) of the 19 patients. In the follow-up study including all the patients transplanted after Imlifidase desensitization, the antibody-mediated rejection rate (AMR) was at 39%, most of them occurring during the first month post-transplantation. Three-year death-censored graft survival was 93% in patients with AMR and 77% in the others. Three-year patient survival was 85% in patients with AMR and 94% in the others. No safety signal was reported. Based on these data, Imlifidase is now indicated as a desensitization agent of highly sensitized adult kidney transplant patients with positive crossmatch against an available ABO-compatible deceased donor. It should be reserved for patients unlikely to be transplanted under the available kidney allocation system including the prioritization program for highly sensitized patients (https://www.ema.europa.eu). Therefore, the French Society of Transplantation (SFT), the French-speaking Society of Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation (SFNDT) and the French Society of Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (SFHI) have proposed French recommendations for patient selection, choice of antibodies characteristics, treatment and follow-up in order to homogenize practices. Although this new treatment addressed an unmet medical need, its authorization was based on only two small-scale studies. Therefore, additional data on long-term graft function and survival are required in patients treated by imlifidase.

Tubeless Spontaneous Ventilation Anesthesia in Kidney Transplantation

The aim of this clinical trial is to compare the intraoperative use of neuromuscular blocking agents and other anesthetic drugs between tubeless spontaneous ventilation anesthesia (TSVA) and conventional endotracheal intubation (ETT) anesthesia in kidney transplantation. The study will also evaluate the safety, stability, and postoperative recovery associated with TSVA. This trial is designed to address the following questions: * Does TSVA reduce the intraoperative requirement for neuromuscular blocking agents and other anesthetic medications? * Does TSVA improve postoperative outcomes in kidney transplant recipients? * How do the intraoperative safety and stability of TSVA compare with those of ETT anesthesia? Researchers will compare anesthetic drug consumption, intraoperative anesthetic performance, and postoperative recovery outcomes between the TSVA and ETT groups to determine whether TSVA can decrease anesthetic drug use and enhance patient recovery. Participants will: * Undergo a complete preoperative assessment * Receive kidney transplantation under TSVA or ETT anesthesia, with relevant intraoperative data recorded * Receive tubeless postoperative management, with documentation of pain scores, complications, and recovery of graft function * Be followed throughout their lifetime after discharge, providing long-term follow-up information

Kidney Transplant Immunosuppressive Therapy Adherence Trial (KITE)

This randomized controlled interventional study aims to evaluate the effect of structured education and telephone counseling on immunosuppressive medication adherence among kidney transplant recipients. Poor adherence to immunosuppressive therapy after kidney transplantation is a major risk factor for acute rejection, graft loss, and increased morbidity. Education and behavioral support interventions delivered by nurses may improve medication understanding, adherence behaviors, and self-management skills. In this trial, 60 participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving individualized education, an immunosuppressive medication adherence booklet, and scheduled telephone counseling sessions, or a control group receiving routine clinical care. Adherence will be assessed using the Immunosuppressive Medication Adherence Scale and biological monitoring through tacrolimus level variability over 8 weeks. Additional outcomes include changes in medication knowledge scores based on pre-test and post-test assessments. The study will contribute evidence regarding whether nurse-led telephone counseling and structured education can enhance adherence, improve clinical follow-up, and support long-term graft success in kidney transplant patients.

TRAnscriptional Profile of Peripheral Blood Cells in Patient With Chronic Kidney and Lung Rejection: Correlation With Response to Extracorporeal Photo-aphereSiS

With this project, the research team aims to identify the molecular pathways associated with the response to extracorporeal photonchemioapheresis (ECP) in kidney or lung transplant patients suffering from chronic rejection, by analyzing gene expression in samples of peripheral blood mononuclear cells.