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Pig kidney human transplant reaches another milestone, first peer-reviewed study published

 Last Update: 2022-03-09
 Source: Internet
 Author: User

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The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) today announced that its researchers, in collaboration with United Therapeutics, have successfully transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney into a brain-dead patient to replace its original source.
some kidneys
.

These positive results show the potential of xenotransplantation to address the global shortage of transplanted organs

Organ transplants are in many cases the only way to save seriously ill patients, yet the shortage of transplanted organs has left a large number of patients waiting in the unknown
.

Because pigs grow fast and their organs are similar in size to humans, they have gradually become an important research direction for scientists

The pig kidneys used in this study came from genetically engineered pigs at Revivicor, a unit of United Therapeutics
.

Scientists made 10 gene edits to the pigs to make their organs more suitable for transplantation into humans

▲ Illustration of this research process (Image source: Reference [3])

In this study, UAB scientists wanted to answer a series of critical questions related to xenotransplantation
.

First, does transplanting a genetically engineered pig organ into a human cause rapid rejection? The results showed that no rapid onset of immune rejection was observed within 74 hours after transplantation

Second, UAB scientists developed a xenoimmune-matched assay to assess the immune-matching of pig organs to patients before transplantation
.

This is the first time scientists have tested immune-matched two different species before transplant surgery

In addition, the researchers tested the patient's blood after the transplant and found no pig-derived cells or pathogens in it

References:

[1] UAB announces first clinical-grade transplant of gene-edited pig kidneys into brain-dead human.

[2] United Therapeutics Corporation Announces Historic Achievements in its Xenotransplantation Programs.

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