Treatment of acute renal allograft rejection with a monoclonal antibody to a T cell antigen (HuLy-m2).

The progress of five patients with recurrent renal allograft rejection who were treated with anti-HuLy-m2 (anti-T cell subset monoclonal antibody) is described. The therapy was without significant side effects and all patients responded to therapy with a diminution of OKT3+ and HuLy-m1+ (identical to E-RFC) peripheral blood lymphocytes. Three of the five patients had improvement in renal rejection. One patient demonstrated long term improvement in renal function, in another two patients renal function improved temporarily, and the remaining two patients had no significant benefit from anti-HuLy-m2 therapy. This limited trial has demonstrated the potential value of a monoclonal anti-T cell antibody, reactive with a subset of T cells, for immunotherapy of renal rejection in patients previously treated with anti-rejection therapy.