Microvascular inflammation in kidney transplants: finally an effective treatment?

Microvascular inflammation-glomerulitis and peritubular capillaritis-is the hallmark histologic lesion of antibody-mediated allograft rejection and may also occur in the absence of donor-specific antibodies. In either case, microvascular inflammation leads to graft loss, and it has proven difficult to treat. As demonstrated in a study in this issue of Kidney International, targeting CD38, a glycoprotein expressed on both plasma cells and natural killer cells, shows great promise in treating microvascular inflammation in kidney transplants.