Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Therapy in Renal Recipients (MSCs)
Renal Transplant Rejection, Fibrosis

About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Renal Transplant Rejection focused on measuring Mesenchymal Stromal Cells, Allograft rejection, Fibrosis
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Subject is willing to participate in the study, must be able to give informed consent and the consent must be obtained prior to any study procedure.
- Recipients of a first kidney graft from a deceased, living-unrelated or non-HLA identical living related donor > 50 years of age.
- Panel Reactive Antibodies (PRA) ≤ 10%.
- Patients must be able to adhere to the study visit schedule and protocol requirements.
- If female and of child-bearing age, subject must be non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding, and use adequate contraception.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Double organ transplant recipient.
- Biopsy proven acute rejection (according to the Banff criteria) in the first 6 weeks after transplantation.
- Patients with evidence of active infection or abscesses (with the exception of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection) before MSC infusion.
- Patients suffering from hepatic failure.
- Patients suffering from an active autoimmune disease.
- Patients who have had a previous BM transplant.
- A psychiatric, addictive or any disorder that compromises ability to give truly informed consent for participation in this study.
- Use of any investigational drug after transplantation.
- Documented HIV infection, active hepatitis B, hepatitis C or TB according to current transplantation inclusion criteria.
- Subjects who currently an active opportunistic infection at the time of MSC infusion (e.g., herpes zoster [shingles], cytomegalovirus (CMV), Pneumocystis carinii (PCP), aspergillosis, histoplasmosis, or mycobacteria other than TB, BK) after transplantation.
- Malignancy (including lymphoproliferative disease) within the past 2-5 years (except for squamous or basal cell carcinoma of the skin that has been treated with no evidence of recurrence) according to current transplantation inclusion criteria.
- Known recent substance abuse (drug or alcohol).
- Contraindications to undergo a BM biopsy.
- Patients who are recipients of ABO incompatible transplants.
- Cold ischemia time >30 hrs.
- Patients with severe total hypercholesterolemia (>7.5 mmol/L) or total hypertriglyceridemia (>5.6 mmol/L) (patients on lipid lowering treatment with controlled hyperlipidemia are acceptable).
Sites / Locations
- Leiden University Medical Center
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
No Intervention
Mesenchymal Stromal Cells + Everolimus
Everolimus + Tacrolimus
Intervention: two doses of autologous bone marrow (BM) derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells IV, 7 days apart, 6 and 7 weeks after transplantation in combination with Certican® (1.5mg/day). Doses of MSCs will be 1-2x10^6 million MSCs per/kg body weight. At the time of the second MSC infusion tacrolimus will be withdrawn in 2 weeks (after 1 week dose of tacrolimus wil be halved, after 2 weeks stopped)
Patients in the control group will receive Certican® (1.5 mg b.i.d.) and standard dose tacrolimus (through levels 6-8 ng/ml after 6 weeks).