antilymphocyte immunoglobulin (horse)

Antilymphocyte immunoglobulin (horse), also known as equine anti-thymocyte globulin or Atgam, is a polyclonal IgG antibody preparation derived from the serum of horses immunized with human thymus lymphocytes. It is used primarily as an immunosuppressive agent to manage and treat allograft rejection in renal transplant patients and for certain hematologic conditions such as aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. The mechanism of action involves binding to a wide variety of proteins on the surface of human lymphocytes—especially T cells—leading to their depletion through complement-dependent lysis and/or activation-induced apoptosis. This results in profound suppression of cell-mediated immunity[1][2][5][8].

Brand names

Atgam

Other names

anti-thymocyte globulin (equine)anti-thymocyte globulin equineequine ATGequine thymocyte immune globulinhorse anti-thymocyte globulinhorse ATGlymphocyte immune globulin, anti-thymocyte globulin (equine)lymphocyte immune globulin, anti-thymocyte globulin