Breaking Immunological Barriers and Redefining Frontiers in Kidney Transplantation

Kidney transplantation continues to face significant immunological challenges, including chronic allograft dysfunction, desensitization in highly sensitized patients, and the ongoing need to balance effective immunosuppression with infection risk. Despite advances, current treatment protocols often fall short of delivering personalized, durable solutions, sustaining ongoing debates in both clinical practice and research.

Recent developments — including the integration of precision medicine, artificial intelligence, and novel biomarkers — have opened promising new pathways. However, translating these findings into clinically actionable strategies remains a key unmet need.

This Research Topic aims to bring together multidisciplinary insights that address both the clinical realities and immunological underpinnings of kidney transplantation. We seek contributions that highlight innovative immunomodulatory strategies, mechanistic studies, and translational advances. Focus areas include tolerance-inducing protocols, cell-based therapies, immune monitoring tools, and systems-level approaches involving the microbiome and metabolomics. By aligning immunological mechanisms with patient-centered outcomes, this Topic aims to promote transformative advances in transplant care.

We welcome submissions that explore the following themes:

-Tolerance-inducing protocols and cell-based therapies
-Mechanistic insights into alloimmune responses and immune regulation
-Personalized immunosuppressive approaches guided by immune profiling
-Novel immunosuppressive agents and delivery methods
-Strategies to address chronic allograft dysfunction
-Integration of microbiome, metabolomics, and biomarker discovery in clinical decision-making
-AI and machine learning in immunosuppression customization and risk prediction

We invite Review Articles, Original Research, Perspectives, and Case Series that contribute to either clinical practice or foundational immunology, including both experimental and translational studies.

Conflicts of Interest Declaration : Dr. Louise Benning receives funding for dd-cfDNA testing: CareDx, iMDx Honoraria/Travel Support: Astellas, CareDx, Chiesi, Vifor

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Kidney Transplantation, Immunosuppression, Desensitization, Immune Tolerance, Precision Medicine

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.