Published online May 29, 2020. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v10.i5.104
Peer-review started: February 24, 2020
First decision: April 25, 2020
Revised: April 30, 2020
Accepted: May 12, 2020
Article in press: May 12, 2020
Published online: May 29, 2020
Processing time: 95 Days and 1.7 Hours
Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) following lung transplantation limits long-term survival considerably. The main reason for this is a lack of knowledge regarding the pathological condition and the establishment of treatment. The consensus statement from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation on CLAD in 2019 classified CLAD into two main phenotypes: Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and restrictive allograft syndrome. Along with this clear classification, further exploration of the mechanisms and the development of appropriate prevention and treatment strategies for each phenotype are desired. In this review, we summarize the new definition of CLAD and update and summarize the existing knowledge on the underlying mechanisms of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and restrictive allograft syndrome, which have been elucidated from clinicopathological observations and animal experiments worldwide.
Core tip: Long-term prognosis following lung transplantation has not improved due to chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). Although a decade has passed since restrictive allograft syndrome with poor outcome was proposed, which was subsequently included as a new CLAD phenotype in the consensus report from International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation in 2019, detailed mechanisms involved remain largely unknown. Here, we discuss the mechanisms of CLAD from an immunological point of view.