Immunosuppressant and Immunomodulatory Drugs Flashcards
Describe the timing and cause of hyperacute rejection.
How could you avoid hyperacute rejection?
Occurs within minutes of transplant
Caused by preformed reactive antibodies
Avoid it by crossmatching the blood types and tissues before transplant
Describe the timing and cause of acute rejection
6-12 months post transplant
T cell mediated rejection
Describe the timing and cause of chronic rejection
Months-years after transplant
Due to fibrosis damaging the graft blood vessels
In general, what is the medical approach to immunosuppression in transplant patients?
Triple therapy regimen.
Target 3 different aspects of the immune system to prevent rejection. This also allows you to lower the dose of each regimen, thus decreasing risk of adverse effects
What are the two glucocorticoids used in immunosuppressive therapy?
Which is a pro-drug and which is an active drug?
Prednisone (prodrug)
Prednisolone (active drug)
Glucocorticoids
MOA
They are steroid hormones that bind intracellular receptors, causing inactivation of proinflammatory and regulatory genes
Decrease number of circulating leukocytes
When are high doses of IV steroids (Prednisone/Prednisolone) used?
Acute rejection episodes
Graft vs Host Disease in bone marrow transplant
Treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome
Glucocorticoids
Adverse Effects associated with chronic treatment
Increased risk of infection Hyperglycemia HTN Hyperlipidemia Obesity High risk of exacerbating preexisting diabetes or developing diabetes Osteopenia Cataracts Growth retardation in kids Poor wound healing
Glucocorticoids
How are they typically administered to prevent adverse effects? Describe how cessation of glucocorticoid therapy occurs.
Slow taper over the first month
You should NOT rapidly withdraw from Glucocorticoid therapy due to risk of having an acute adrenal crisis
Azathioprine
MOA
Prodrug of 6-mercaptopurine.
Then gets converted to 6-TIMP, which inhibits de-novo synthesis of purines.
TIMP also gets metabolized to inhibit Rac1, leading to inhibition of T cell activation.
Azathioprine
Indications
Prophylaxis prevention of graft rejection Autoimmune diseases (RA, Crohn's, MS)
Azathioprine
Adverse Effects
GI effects (nausea, diarrhea, vomiting) Leukopenia Thrombocytopenia Increased infection risk Increased malignancy risk Hepatotoxicity
Azathioprine
Drug Reactions
Reacts with Allopurinol and Febuxostat (Xanthine oxidase inhibitors used in the treatment of gout)
- Causes elevated 6-mercaptopurine levels
Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) MOA
Prodrug of mycophenolic acid (MMF gets converted to mycophenolic acid via a reaction by a plasma esterase)
Mycophenolic acid inhibits Inosine Monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) Type II, the rate limiting enzyme in de novo synthesis of purines
Selectively inhibits lymphocyte proliferation
Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) Adverse Effects
Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting Leukopenia Anemia Embryo/fetal toxicity - congenital abnormalities Increased infection risk Increased malignancy risk
Can cause appearance of PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) - inflammatory response in brain caused by reactivation of JC virus
Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) Contraindications
Do NOT give MMF to a man or woman of child bearing age who wishes to have children