Logo Annals of Transplantation Logo Annals of Transplantation Logo Annals of Transplantation

28 March 2008

No transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) in a long-term pig to rat xenotransplantation model and no infection of immunosuppressed rats

Joachim Denner, Volker Specke, Alexander Karlas, Irina Chodnevskaja, Thomas Meyer, Vasiliy Moskalenko, Reinhard Kurth, Karin Ulrichs

Ann Transplant 2008; 13(1): 20-31 :: ID: 843640

Abstract

Background: Xenotransplantation from pig to humans may be associated with the risk of transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) that are present in the genome of all pigs and that infect human cells in vitro. However, it remains unclear whether PERVs infect transplant recipients in vivo and, if so, whether they are pathogenic. It is therefore essential to perform in vivo infection studies in animal models.
Material/Methods: To study PERV transmission in rats, rat primary cells and cell lines were treated in vitro with virus from different sources. Based on the assumption that susceptible cell lineages not yet tested in vitro could be present in the animal, PERV was inoculated into naïve and immunosuppressed animals. To investigate PERV transmission in a long-term exposure experiment, sera from animals grafted with pig Langerhans islet cells were tested in a Western blot assay for antibodies against PERVs. The animals were treated with streptozotocin to induce diabetes and microencapsulated and non-microencapsulated pig islet cells were applied without immunosuppression.
Results: No productive infection of a few selected rat primary cells or cell lines was observed in vitro. PERV-specific antibodies were found in none of the animals and no integration of PERV into rat cells of different organs was observed, indicating that infection had not occurred.
Conclusions: This report demonstrates a lack of infection of rats in vivo even during immunosuppression or long-term exposure (up to 460 days) to a functioning xenotransplant. This report also shows that rats possibly due to a low receptor concentration on their cells are not a suitable animal model to study PERV transmission in vivo.

Keywords: Xenotransplantation, diabetes, porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs), islet microencapsulation

Add Comment 0 Comments

In Press

Original article  

Simultaneous Liver and Kidney Transplant in a Middle-Income Country: A Single-Center Experience

Ann Transplant In Press; DOI: 10.12659/AOT.947649  

Original article  

Outcomes of Combined Liver-Kidney Transplantation in Polycystic Liver and Kidney Disease

Ann Transplant In Press; DOI: 10.12659/AOT.947639  

Most Viewed Current Articles

03 Jan 2023 : Original article   6,872

Impact of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation on Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma in First-Line and...

DOI :10.12659/AOT.938467

Ann Transplant 2023; 28:e938467

15 Aug 2023 : Review article   6,817

Free-Circulating Nucleic Acids as Biomarkers in Patients After Solid Organ Transplantation

DOI :10.12659/AOT.939750

Ann Transplant 2023; 28:e939750

16 May 2023 : Original article   6,561

Breaking Antimicrobial Resistance: High-Dose Amoxicillin with Clavulanic Acid for Urinary Tract Infections ...

DOI :10.12659/AOT.939258

Ann Transplant 2023; 28:e939258

28 May 2024 : Original article   5,900

Effect of Dexmedetomidine Combined with Remifentanil on Emergence Agitation During Awakening from Sevoflura...

DOI :10.12659/AOT.943281

Ann Transplant 2024; 29:e943281

Your Privacy

We use cookies to ensure the functionality of our website, to personalize content and advertising, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. If you allow us to do so, we also inform our social media, advertising and analysis partners about your use of our website, You can decise for yourself which categories you you want to deny or allow. Please note that based on your settings not all functionalities of the site are available. View our privacy policy.

Annals of Transplantation eISSN: 2329-0358
Annals of Transplantation eISSN: 2329-0358