Publikationsdatenbank

Evidence for microchimerism in baboon recipients of pig hearts (2023)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Jhelum, Hina (WE 5)

Bender, Martin

Reichart, Bruno

Mokelke, Maren

Radan, Julia

Neumann, Elisabeth

Krabben, Ludwig (WE 5)

Abicht, Jan-Michael

Kaufer, Benedikt (WE 5)

Längin, Matthias

Denner, Joachim (WE 5)

Quelle

Viruses

Bandzählung: 15

Heftzählung: 7

Seiten: Artikel 1618

ISSN: 1999-4915

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/15/7/1618

DOI: 10.3390/v15071618

Pubmed: 37515304

Kontakt

Institut für Virologie

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51833
virologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Xenotransplantation, like allotransplantation, is usually associated with microchimerism, i.e., the presence of cells from the donor in the recipient. Microchimerism was reported in first xenotransplantation trials in humans, as well as in most preclinical trials in nonhuman primates (for review, see Denner, Viruses 2023, 15, 190). When using pigs as xenotransplantation donors, their cells contain porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) in their genome. This makes it difficult to discriminate between microchimerism and PERV infection of the recipient. Here, we demonstrate the appropriate virological methods to be used for the identification of microchimerism, first by screening for porcine cellular genes, and then how to detect infection of the host. Using porcine short interspersed nuclear sequences (SINEs), which have hundreds of thousands of copies in the pig genome, significantly increased the sensitivity of the screening for pig cells. Second, absence of PERV RNA demonstrated an absence of viral genomic RNA or expression as mRNA. Lastly, absence of antibodies against PERV proteins conclusively demonstrated an absence of a PERV infection. When applying these methods for analyzing baboons after pig heart transplantation, microchimerism could be demonstrated and infection excluded in all animals. These methods can be used in future clinical trials.