An academic paper titled "Graft-derived extracellular vesicles transported across subcapsular sinus macrophages elicit B cell alloimmunity after transplantation" was published on the cover of the top international journal,Science Translational Medicine(IF: 16.304), on March 17, 2021, which laid a new theoretical foundation for a clinical solution to graft rejection. Furong Zeng, a postdoctoral fellow of Professor Xiang Chen in the Department of Dermatology, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, is the co-first author of this paper (ranking the first). She was enrolled in the eight-year program at the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Xiangya Hospital in 2010 with Professor Xiaoxia Zuo as her doctoral supervisor.
Under the guidance of Professor Adrian E. Morelli at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute of the University of Pittsburgh, the world"s largest transplant center, the study has investigated the mechanism by which donor antigens come in proximity to alloreactive B cells following skin or heart transplantation. The authors showed, using flow cytometry and two-photon microscopy, that extracellular vesicles released by skin or cardiac grafts drain to secondary lymphoid tissues and are captured by flypaper-like subcapsular sinus macrophages in lymph nodes and analogue macrophages in the spleen. The subcapsular sinus macrophages in turn passed antigen to alloreactive B cells, which became activated and produced donor-specific antibodies. The findings of this study overturn the traditional view that the transfer of donor white blood cells to the receptor is an essential condition for donor graft rejection. They also lay a new theoretical foundation for the clinical treatment of graft rejection.
Furong Zeng participated in the eight-year joint doctoral program between Central South University and the University of Pittsburgh. From 2016 to 2018, Zeng was engaged in exosome and skin grafts under the guidance of Professor Adrian E. Morelli of the University of Pittsburgh. After graduating in China, Furong Zeng worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the team of Professor Xiang Chen, Vice President of Central South University, in the field of melanoma diagnosis and treatment. As a postdoctoral researcher, Zeng has now published 18 SCI papers as the first or corresponding author (including co-author), with a cumulative impact factor of more than 100 points. Other representative journals include theJournal of Hepatology(IF: 20.58),PNAS(IF: 9.41),Theranostics(IF: 8.57).
The dermatology team, led by Professor Xiang Chen, has been committed to clinical, basic and translational research of skin diseases for many years. In the past five years, the team has had more than 200 SCI papers published in international journals, such asN Engl J Med,Cancer Cell,Advanced Science,Nat Commun,J Allergy Clin Immun,Cancer Res,Oncogene, andPLoS Biol. The research team has established a number of national and provincial platforms, including the National Engineering Laboratory for Medical Big Data Application, and the Innovation and Talent Recruitment Base for Research on Major Skin Diseases initiated by the Ministry of Education. Striving to become a world-wide leader in academic research, this team consists of National Distinguished Young Scholars/Yangtze River Scholars as leaders, National Excellent Young Scholars/National Top Young Talents/Young Yangtze River Scholars as the backbone, and postdoctoral fellows as the reserve experts. They always welcome young professionals to join them from various medical disciplines and at all levels. Please send an email tolanchen2008@163.comfor more information if you are interested.
