COMPOSITION AND METHOD FOR EX VIVO IMMUNOMODULATION AND/OR PRESERVATION OF ORGANS, METHODS AND USE

The present invention provides a composition for modulating MARCH-I, MHC II and/or CD86 in the cells of an organ ex vivo, that is to say an organ taken from a donor for subsequent transplantation in a recipient. In one embodiment, the said composition comprises one or more organ preservation solutions in combination with an Hsp. In another embodiment, the composition of the invention comprises Hsp70 and/or one or more synthetic Hsp70-derived peptides. The composition of the invention provides preservation while at the same time reducing rejection of an organ, thus offering many advantages and solving various relevant technical problems: not only preserving the useful life of the organ but also initiating a process in the organ which inhibits acute rejection; lengthening the useful life of the organ in vivo; having local immunomodulating effects in the recipient; having an indirect impact on the quality of life of the transplant recipient by necessitating fewer immunosuppressive medications; inducing the activity of regulatory T cells (which are acknowledged to be immunosuppressors), reducing the expression of MHC molecules in the graft, reducing alloreactive expression in the recipient's lymph nodes, and lengthening the survival of the graft in the recipient.