Every year, thousands of patients receive a new kidney only to face an immediate threat from within — their own immune cells turning against the transplanted organ. Researchers have now traced this betrayal to a single molecular switch, a transcription factor called ELF-1, which commands macrophages to adopt a destructive inflammatory posture in the critical days after surgery. By mapping the precise chain of molecular events ELF-1 sets in motion, scientists have illuminated not just a mechanism of harm, but a constellation of points where that harm might be interrupted — offering hope that th
ELF-1 transcription factor drives kidney injury after transplant via inflammatory macrophage pathway
Acute kidney injury is a critical complication in renal transplant recipients that significantly impacts patient prognosis and outcomes.