Making more kidney transplants possible for everyone
Professor Florian Hollfelder from the University of Cambridge has been awarded a Professor Michael Nicholson PhD studentship grant of £108,000 to test new enzyme treatments that could reduce transplant rejection and make more donor kidneys suitable for patients.
The challenge of finding a suitable match
For many, a kidney transplant offers the best chance of living a longer, healthier life. But finding a suitable donor can take years.
This is because every donated kidney carries unique markers, known as antigens. The immune system uses antigens to recognise what belongs in the body and what does not. If these markers do not closely match the recipient, the body can reject the transplant.
This challenge means that patients can face long and uncertain waits and some donated kidneys may not be used.
We are in a golden age for chemical engineering, where technology now allows us to work at a pace that was previously impossible. Using a method called directed evolution, we can rapidly screen vast numbers of enzymes and identify the most effective candidates, like finding a needle in a haystack, but at remarkable speed.”
Professor Florian Hollfelder
Preparing kidneys for transplantation
Professor Florian Hollfelder and the team from the University of Cambridge are working on a new approach that could transform kidney transplantation.
To do this, they will use enzymes, like those found in everyday biological detergents to develop a ‘washing powder’ for donor kidneys. These enzymes act like microscopic cleaners, removing the markers from the surface of kidney cells.
To make this possible, researchers are combining the enzyme with an advanced technique called normothermic machine perfusion. This involves keeping a donated kidney functioning outside the body by pumping fluid through it. The enzyme solution can then be circulated through the kidney, carefully removing the markers located inside the donated organ.
Collaboration at the heart of research
This project brings together experts from different fields, including Professor Michael Nicholson’s team, where Professor Sarah Hosgood and Dr Serena MacMillan developed and use the machine perfusion technology that makes this approach possible, and the glycobiology expertise of Professor Paul Dupree.
Finding the best enzyme
One of the biggest challenges is identifying enzymes that are powerful, precise and safe. To tackle this, Florian and the team are using cutting-edge technology to test millions of enzyme variations in a single day.
These experiments take place in tiny droplets, contained in disposable microchips. Within these miniature systems, they can test and pick out the best enzyme candidates.
Promising enzymes will then be tested on human tissue samples, with the goal of moving into clinical studies.
What could this mean for kidney patients?
This research could make more donated kidneys usable and reduce waiting times. For patients and families, it could mean faster transplants and less uncertainty about the future.
“A key goal of this work is to reduce the time patients wait for a donor organ and lessen the impact this uncertainty has on their lives. Ultimately, we want to overcome the problem of donor–recipient matching and prevent valuable kidneys from being discarded. It’s also an exciting and fun time to be working in protein engineering, and this project lets us investigate these challenges in much greater depth than ever before.”
PhD student Peter Nix
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