This is a prospective observational single center national study. Lung and heart transplant patients with a definite diagnosis of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) or cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) will be assigned for extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) as per common clinical practice to a 6-month ECP cycle with the aim of limiting progression of organ dysfunction. The exact mechanisms of ECP in chronic rejection after lung and heart transplantation (CLAD and CAV) are elusive but it is thought to induce apoptosis of lymphocytes and to generate regulatory T cells, which modulate transplant immune rejection by a complex effect.
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identification the primary mechanism of action of ECP in CLAD and CAV by analyzing biological markers (such as relative expression levels of microRNAs, potentially involved in immune regulation), associated to response to a 6 month-ECP treatment course
Timeframe: After 6 months from ECP treatment