Conditions: Renal Transplant Recipients
Keywords: Kidney transplantation Living donor transplant Graft rejection Graft loss Induction with rituximab and ATG Immunosuppression (IS)
Allocation: NA | Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Enrollment: 10
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is see if a combination of two drugs, (ATG and rituximab), given at the time of the transplant surgery, will help reduce or eliminate the need for long term immunosuppressive medication.

Detailed description:
Kidneys remove excess fluid and waste from the blood. When kidneys lose their filtering ability, dangerous levels of fluid and waste accumulate in the body - a condition known as kidney failure. There are two ways to treat kidney failure. One way is to get dialysis indefinitely. The second way is to get a kidney transplant. A kidney transplant is often the best treatment for kidney failure. A kidney transplant is a surgical procedure to place a healthy kidney from a donor into a person whose kidneys no longer function properly. This study is for people who will receive a kidney transplant from a very well matched, living blood relative. The immune system is the body's defense system against illness. After transplant, the immune system will think that the new kidney is a foreign invader and will try to attack or reject the transplanted kidney. Immunosuppressive drugs protect the transplanted kidney by suppressing the immune system. People who have kidney transplants must take immunosuppressive drug for the rest of their lives. If they stop, their immune system may reject the transplanted kidney. Immunosuppressive drugs make it hard for the body to fight off infections. In addition, they can cause high blood pressure, kidney damage, plaque build-up in the blood vessels, high cholesterol, diabetes and bone disease. They may also make the body more likely to get some types of cancer (mainly cancer of the white blood cells and/or skin) and other serious side effects.

Because of the side effects of immunosuppressive drugs, an important goal of transplant research is to allow people to accept their transplanted organ without always having to take immunosuppressive drugs. This is called tolerance. The RESTARRT study is testing a combination of two medications, rituximab and anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG), to see if they can help people reduce or eliminate the need for life-long immunosuppressive medications. ATG has been used for over 10 years to treat transplant rejection; rituximab is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and two types of cancer. ATG works on immune cells called 'T cells' that are involved in transplant rejection, while rituximab works on a different type of cell called 'B cells.' Researchers hope that targeting both these cell types at the same time will help reset the immune system so that it accepts the transplanted kidney.

Frequent visits are required during the first two months of the study. Then, study visits take place about every 4 weeks, but more often (every 2 weeks) when reducing medication doses. After two years, participants will be asked to return for check-ups every 3 months. Study visits may include consultations with the transplant doctors, physical exam, blood and/or urine samples and kidney biopsies at several times during the study. In all, participation could last up to 4 years. All study-related medications and tests are provided at no charge to the patient.

Arms:
arm 1: Study participants will undergo induction with rituximab and ATG and an initial maintenance therapy with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) and sirolimus. MMF will be discontinued on day 12. Participants will be evaluated for eligibility for tacrolimus withdrawal which must be initiated between weeks 26 and 38. Tacrolimus withdrawal must be completed in no fewer than 4 weeks and no more than 8 weeks. Then after at least 26 weeks on sirolimus monotherapy, participants will be evaluated for eligibility for sirolimus withdrawal which must be initiated between weeks 56 and 88. Sirolimus withdrawal must be completed in no fewer than 12 weeks and no more than 26 weeks.

Interventions: intervention 1: ATG intervention 2: Rituximab intervention 3: Tacrolimus intervention 4: Sirolimus intervention 5: MMF
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 1.5 mg/kg IV infusion on day of transplant, and 3 additional on days 2 through 7 after transplant. intervention 2: 375 mg/m\^2 IV infusion on day -6 before transplant and on day 1 after transplant. intervention 3: Taken orally. Tacrolimus dose adjusted to maintain target blood levels of 6-10 ng/mL. intervention 4: Taken orally. Initial dose, 2 mg daily on day 10 post-transplant, subsequently adjusted to achieve trough levels of 8-12 ng/mL through week 56. Sirolimus withdrawal will be initiated between week 56 and week 88 in eligible participants. intervention 5: 1 g twice daily on days 0 through 12

Protocol document: