Mayo Research Fuels New Concerns About Xenotransplantation

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic report the surprising discovery that human and animal cells can fuse together and form hybrids, raising new concerns about the potential safety risks of xenotransplantation.

In this latest research, human blood stem cells were implanted into fetal pigs.

Molecular examination subsequently found that hybrid cells formed in the pigs contained genetic material from both species, and also contained the porcine endogenous retrovirus, a swine virus similar to HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) that can infect normal human cells.

The Mayo researchers said their discovery that pig cells and human cells can fuse together in the body "helps explain how a retrovirus can jump from one species to another."

"What we found was completely unexpected," said Dr. Jeffrey Platt, director of the Mayo Clinic Transplantation Biology Program.

While the research, scheduled for publication in the FASEB Journal, does not answer the question of whether this infection can cause actual disease in humans, it seems certain to raise concern about the potential for transmission of disease when an animal organ is surgically implanted into a human.

Researchers for years have looked to xenotransplantation -- the transplant of an organ from one species to another -- as a potential long-term solution to the ever-growing shortage of human donors for the many who need organ transplants.

Other Sources: Mayo Clinic