First-in-Human Trial Shows Liver Transplant Patients Can Stop Immunosuppressants After Cell Therapy

Apr 17, 2026

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers published results in Nature Communications showing that multiple liver transplant patients successfully stopped taking all immunosuppressant drugs for over three years after receiving a pre-transplant cell therapy. The small, early-stage trial used regulatory dendritic cells generated in a lab from living donors' white blood cells to teach recipients' immune systems to accept the donated liver tissue without attacking it. This approach addresses a long-sought goal in transplant medicine, as current immunosuppression regimens cause serious side effects including increased vulnerability to infections and cancers, diabetes, and kidney damage. The therapy was only possible with living liver donors who provided both a portion of their regenerating livers and the white blood cells needed to create the therapeutic cells.

Cell Therapy Approach Using Regulatory Dendritic Cells

▪The Nature Communications study was a small, early-stage trial.
▪The regulatory dendritic cell therapy aims to teach immune cells in the recipient's body to treat the donated liver fragment as familiar tissue, not an invader to be attacked.
▪Cell therapy using regulatory T immune cells taken from the donor has been tried before to disarm the immune system's attack.
▪A study published Friday in Nature Communications used regulatory dendritic cells obtained from donors' white blood cells and generated in a lab for liver transplant patients.

Immune Tolerance as Alternative to Immunosuppression

▪The first-in-human trial showed liver transplant patients can stop immunosuppressants after receiving cell therapy.
▪Immunosuppression raises transplant recipients' vulnerability to infectious diseases and certain cancers.
▪Immune tolerance has long been the holy grail in transplant medicine as a hoped-for end to the downsides of anti-rejection regimens.
▪Serious side effects from immunosuppression drugs include developing diabetes and kidney damage.

Living Liver Donation and Transplant Context

▪Living liver donations take advantage of the liver's ability to regenerate, meaning donors can part with a piece of their liver and later see it grow back.
▪The cell therapy study used cells from living donors who were giving a portion of their livers.
▪Liver transplants replace livers damaged by alcohol-associated liver disease, metabolic-associated liver disease, liver cancer, or other causes.

Perspective of UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers

▪The pre-transplant cell therapy approach developed by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh could end the need for lifelong anti-rejection drugs.
▪The UPMC and University of Pittsburgh trial represents a potential breakthrough in organ transplantation.
▪UPMC and University of Pittsburgh researchers successfully weaned multiple liver transplant patients off all immunosuppressant drugs for over three years.

Perspective of Liver transplant patients

▪Liver transplant patients who received the regulatory dendritic cell therapy were able to discontinue all immunosuppressant medications.
▪Liver transplant recipients currently face lifelong dependence on anti-rejection drugs with significant downsides.
▪The cell therapy offers liver transplant patients the possibility of living without the burden of daily immunosuppression regimens.

Perspective of Living liver donors

▪Living liver donors provided both a portion of their livers and white blood cells for the regulatory dendritic cell therapy.
▪The UPMC and University of Pittsburgh study specifically required living donors rather than deceased donors to obtain the necessary cells.