Runaway powerhouse: donor mitochondria promote rejection.

The life-saving procedure of organ transplantation inevitably involves major cell stress and tissue injury within the transplanted organ caused by ischemia, reperfusion and subsequent assault by the recipient immune system. These processes lead to the generation and release of danger-associated-molecular patterns, or DAMPs, that can be recognized by both immune and non-immune cells resulting in their activation. Biochemically diverse DAMPs can be expressed by stressed cells on plasma membrane or in the secreted form, released from damaged extracellular matrix, or derive from dead and damaged cells (1). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.