Gene editing: Chinese scientists bring safer pig-to-human organ transplants one step closer to reality
- Transplants from pigs have long been explored as a way to alleviate the global shortage of human organs for patients with organ failure
- The risks of organ rejection and transmitting porcine viruses have limited such transplants, but advances in gene-editing technology could change this
A team led by Chinese researchers say they have succeeding in producing genetically modified pigs with cells that are more compatible with the human immune system, paving the way for safe and effective organ transplants from animals to humans.
The engineered pigs exhibited normal physiology, fertility and transmission of the edited genes to their offspring, according to the paper.
Transplants from pigs have long been investigated as a solution to the global shortage of human organs for patients with organ failure, for reasons such as the size of their organs – similar enough to those of humans – and their relatively short maturity period of about six months.
The risks of organ rejection due to the biological incompatibility of pig organs with human bodies and of transmitting PERVs have limited the clinical applicability of such transplants, but advancements in gene-editing technology have given researchers new hope.
In 2018, scientists in Munich achieved a milestone in the field when they transplanted genetically modified pig hearts into 14 baboons and two of the recipients survived more than six months, the longest any animal has lived with a heart from another species.