Beaudreuil S et al. (2006) Long-term results (10 years) of a prospective trial comparing Lo-tact-1 monoclonal antibody and anti-thymocyte globulin induction therapy in kidney transplantation. Transpl Int 19: 814–820

A prospective study carried out in France indicates that induction therapy with LO-Tact-1 (rat monoclonal anti-interleukin 2 receptor antibody) might reduce the rate of chronic allograft rejection and incidence of infections following kidney transplantation.

First-time recipients of renal grafts from deceased donors were treated with a quadruple sequential immunosuppressive regimen and randomized to either LO-Tact-1 (10 mg/day; n = 20) or antithymocyte globulin (ATG; 15 mg/day; n = 20) during the first 14 days following transplantation. At the end of the 10-year follow-up period five patients in the LO-Tact-1 group and one patient in the ATG group had died; three deaths occurred within 3 years of transplantation. Mortality rates were 5% at 2 years and 15% at 10 years, with no significant difference between the two groups. Death-censored graft loss was lower in patients who received LO-Tact-1 than in those who received ATG, but the difference was not significant. The number of episodes of acute rejection was similar between the two groups. Chronic graft rejection, however, was significantly more frequent in patients treated with ATG than in those treated with LO-Tact-1 (9 vs 3; P <0.05) and there were more viral and bacterial infections in the ATG group (8 vs 2 and 16 vs 10, respectively), indicating a benefit of LO-Tact-1 treatment.