Leger og forskere ved University of Maryland School of Medicine har vellykket transplantert hjertet til en genetisk konstruert gris (GEP) til en voksen pasient med hjertesykdom i sluttstadiet. Denne operasjonen var pasientens eneste mulighet for å overleve etter å ha blitt funnet ikke kvalifisert for tradisjonell transplantasjon. Pasienten har det bra tre dager etter inngrepet.
This is the first time that a genetically-engineered animal hjerte has functioned like a menneskelig hjerte without immediate rejection by the body.
Xenotransplants (i.e., organ transplant from animal to menneskelig) were first tried in the 1980s, but were largely abandoned due to the immune system’s rejection of the foreign hjerte however pig hjerte valves have been used successfully for replacing valves in mennesker.
In this case, the donor gris had been genetically modified to avoid rejection. A total of ten gene edits were made in the donor pig – three genes responsible for rapid rejection of gris organs by menneskelig were deleted, six menneskelig genes responsible for immune acceptance of the pig hjerte were inserted in the genome of the donor pig and one additional gene in the pig responsible for excessive growth of the hjerte tissue was removed.
This surgery is very significant because this brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis through use of genetically engineered animal donors to avoid immune rejection by the menneskelig mottaker.
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Referanse:
University of Maryland School of Medicine. News – University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Perform Historic First Successful Transplant of Porcine Heart into Adult Menneskelig with End-Stage Heart Disease. Posted January 10, 2022. Available at https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/news/2022/University-of-Maryland-School-of-Medicine-Faculty-Scientists-and-Clinicians-Perform-Historic-First-Successful-Transplant-of-Porcine-Heart-into-Adult-Human-with-End-Stage-Heart-Disease.html
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