From Nancy Lapid

June 5 (Reuters) - Researchers have found that genetically modified T-cell therapy, originally developed to treat blood cancers, could also make kidney transplants possible for patients who are not normally considered eligible, potentially opening a new door for those with limited options.

Some people with kidney failure suffer from "hypersensitivity," meaning that their immune system has formed antibodies against foreign tissue, for example as a result of previous blood transfusions, pregnancy, or organ transplants, which increases the likelihood that their bodies will reject most of the donated kidneys.

For highly sensitive patients, finding a suitable kidney may be extremely difficult or even impossible.

Treatment with genetically modified T cells in cancer patients involves removing the patient's immune cells and modifying them in the laboratory to teach them to hunt down and destroy cancer cells, then re-injecting them into the patient.

When the same approach was applied to highly allergic patients in need of kidney transplants, two at a hospital in the United States and a third in Germany, two teams of researchers successfully modified their immune cells to reduce antibody production, then returned them to their bodies to "reset" their immune system.

All three patients experienced a significant decrease in harmful antibodies that typically attack the kidneys of donors.

The two research teams reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine that, as a result, the three patients received successful kidney transplants.

“This is the first time it has been shown that genetically modified T cells can be used not only to treat cancer, but also to help patients who previously did not have the opportunity to receive a compatible kidney from a donor,” said Dr. Ali Nagi of the University of Pennsylvania, who led the care of the two patients in the United States, in a statement.

He explained, "For patients who have spent years on the kidney transplant waiting list, this approach could be revolutionary."