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Porcine xenotransplants—will they fly?

Nature Biotechnology volume 18, pages 925–927 (2000)Cite this article

In perpetual search of better therapies for human afflictions, humankind is scouring the surrounding biosphere for plant- and animal-derived remedies. As it turns out, transplantation of living cells offers particularly rich possibilities. Cells can be grafted to replace lost cells, provide molecules such as hormones, growth factors, or signaling chemicals, or proliferated to replace tissues or even organs. They can also be used as long-term sources of these molecules. All of these applications often require that the cells be genetically modified before grafting. On page 949, Imaizumi et al.1 describe a cell-grafting approach designed to overcome the immunological problems of xenografting1 for axonal regeneration of spinal cord injuries. They have developed transgenic pigs armed with the gene encoding human complement-inhibitory protein (hCD59). From these pigs, they collected two important nerve fiber-ensheathing cells: olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) and Schwann cells. When these cells were delivered into the spinal cords of rats with lesions through the dorsal column of the spinal cord, they induced axonal regeneration and remyelination, restoring impulse conduction across the severed spinal cord.

As experimental data accumulate, demonstrating the feasibility and efficacy of cell grafting strategies for diverse conditions ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's disease, the need for new sources of useful cells has become evident. In general, the transplantability of cells is directly proportional to their degree of immaturity, and inversely proportional, for immunological and other reasons, with increasing phylogenetic distance from Homo sapiens .

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Figure 1: Regenerating nerve fibers.

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  1. professor at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

    Lars Olson

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  1. Lars Olson
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Olson, L. Porcine xenotransplants—will they fly?. Nat Biotechnol 18, 925–927 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/79388

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