Surface antigens on plama extracellular vescicles of cystic fibrosis patients treated by extracorporeal photopheresis as induction therapy after lung transplantation: preliminary results of a pilot randomizd trial

Acute rejection (AR) is common during the first year after lung transplantation (LuTx) and can trigger chronic rejection (CR), the leading cause of late morbidity and mortality of LuTx. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a promising treatment for chronic rejection. Few studies focus on ECP as prophylactic therapy of AR and CR. Microvesicles and exosomes (i.e.extracellular vesicles EV) are released into the blood and in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and their role in cell-to-cell communication has been assessed in several studies; EV have been proposed as non-invasive biomarkers to assess lung injury and monitor clinical outcome.