Researchers successfully transplanted two genetically modified heart pigs into recently dead humans in June and July 2022, marking the most recent breakthrough in addressing organ shortage nationwide for people with heart disease. life threatening.
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Thousands of individuals with deadly diseases remain on the waiting list for organ transplants, as organ demand far exceeds supply of organs. Successful xenotransplants could provide hope to critically ill patients with organ failure to increase survival and decrease associated mortality. However, the risk-benefit ratio of xenotransplantation must be determined and appropriate measures must be taken to prevent organ rejection and increase the success rate of these life-saving procedures.
About the study
Transplant surgeries from the present study were performed on June 16, 2022 and July 6, 2022 at Tisch Hospital in Langone Health, New York University (NYU), and both were completed three days later. The research procedure was led by Nader Moazami, MD, surgical director of heart transplantation at NYU’s Langone Transplant Institute. Dr. Moazami led the transplant surgeries as part of a larger study.
Pork hearts genetically designed by Revivicor, Inc. (a subsidiary of United Therapeutics Corporation) were transplanted to dead donor people receiving mechanical ventilation. There were no signs of rejection in the organs and the transplanted pig hearts showed normal heart function without the need for a ventilator.
Dr. Montgomery has pioneered laparoscopic kidney donation for living organ donation and has developed domino-paired kidney donations, in which ≥2 recipients and donors are paired to exchange kidneys. According to him, swine virus monitoring is a key aspect of successful xenotransplantation, which was incorporated into the present study by monitoring swine cytomegalovirus (pCMV) and swine endogenous retrovirus (PERV).
The pig hearts chosen for transplantation were genetically modified by removing or eliminating four pig genes to prevent transplant rejection and touching six human transgenes to promote the expression of proteins necessary for the regulation of biological mechanisms, which can be disrupted in due to incompatibility between humans. and pigs.
The present study provides an example of a successful heart transplant from a non-human organ to a human with normal functioning without the need for additional devices to overcome organ shortages and save the lives of patients with organ failure. . It is important to note that these studies require appropriate human recipients, and the authors are grateful to the recently deceased whole-body donor and his family for their willingness to participate in such an innovative study. The availability of dead donors would allow advances in organ transplant research, a field that has only tested animals for decades to the previous year.
About xenotransplantation
Xenotransplantation (Greek word xenos meaning strange or strange) refers to a heterologous transplantation from one species to another. The transfer of living cells, tissues or organs from an animal source or from cells, fluids, tissues or organs of the human body with previous ex vivo contact with living animal cells, tissues or organs to a human being is an example of xenotransplantation. .
The animal organ is usually genetically modified with human gene insertions to trick the recipient’s immune system into recognizing the (foreign) transplant as its own tissue. Recent studies have indicated that transplantation may provide therapeutic benefits for people with diabetes, liver failure, Parkinson’s disease, and cancer.
The first attempt at xenotransplantation was reported in 1905, in which a child with chronic kidney disease received a rabbit kidney transplant. Subsequent studies involved kidney transplants from chimpanzees to humans and heart transplants from baboons to a baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. In addition, non – genetically modified pig kidneys, heart, and lungs were transplanted into a human in 1996.
On September 25, 2021, genetically modified pig kidneys were first transplanted into a dead human at NYU Langone Health with no signs of organ rejection and normal kidney function. For the procedure, it was removed from the pig giving the glycane alpha-gal responsible for the rejection of porcine tissues by humans and the tim gland responsible for immune recognition. The procedure was completed within 54 hours after follow-up of renal function and organ rejection. The following year, a team of doctors led by Bartley Griffith of the University of Maryland Medical Center transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into an individual with a terminal illness.
These innovative advances could lead to an unlimited supply of organs and revolutionize transplant research saving the lives of people with terminal illnesses. However, transplant barriers such as hyperacute rejection, acute vascular rejection, cell rejection, deregulated coagulation, xenozoonosis, and immune barriers must be addressed. The ultimate goal of xenotransplantation is not the end, but the beginning of a longer process planned to overcome organ scarcity and save many lives around the world.
Sources:
- Successful cardiac xenotransplant experiments at NYU Langone Set Protocol for pig-to-human organ transplants (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 14 July 2022).
- Progress in xenotransplantation opens the door to a new supply of organs of critical need (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 14 July 2022).
- Xenotransplantation – Wikipedia (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 14 July 2022).