Since the early days of transplantation, it has been known that the immune system is the major barrier to long-term graft survival. Due to the unique “fingerprint” of different individuals’ cells, donor organs are detected as foreign, invasivematerial by the recipient’s immunesystem and, subsequently, attacked and rejected. The difficulty that has continuously faced the transplant community is the multifaceted nature of theimmune response and halting the numerous pathways of immune stimulation. The ultimate goal of all transplant research is graft acceptance, also known as tolerance, without the use of long-term immunosuppressant medication. Various reviews of the different facets of transplant rejection exist. The following summary will attempt to outline the major known pathways involved in organ recognition and acute rejection.
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