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

A composition for modulating MARCH-I, MHC II and/or CD86 in the cells of an organ taken from a donor for subsequent transplantation in a recipient. The composition has one or more organ preservation solutions in combination with an Hsp. The composition may comprise Hsp70 and/or one or more synthetic Hsp70-derived peptides. The composition provides preservation while at the same time reducing rejection of an organ, preserving the useful life of the organ, 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, 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.