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Lu T, Yang B, Wang R, Qin C. Xenotransplantation: Current Status in Preclinical Research. Front Immunol 2020; 10:3060. [PMID: 32038617 PMCID: PMC6989439 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.03060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The increasing life expectancy of humans has led to a growing numbers of patients with chronic diseases and end-stage organ failure. Transplantation is an effective approach for the treatment of end-stage organ failure; however, the imbalance between organ supply and the demand for human organs is a bottleneck for clinical transplantation. Therefore, xenotransplantation might be a promising alternative approach to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of organs, tissues, and cells; however, immunological barriers are limiting factors in clinical xenotransplantation. Thanks to advances in gene-editing tools and immunosuppressive therapy as well as the prolonged xenograft survival time in pig-to-non-human primate models, clinical xenotransplantation has become more viable. In this review, we focus on the evolution and current status of xenotransplantation research, including our current understanding of the immunological mechanisms involved in xenograft rejection, genetically modified pigs used for xenotransplantation, and progress that has been made in developing pig-to-pig-to-non-human primate models. Three main types of rejection can occur after xenotransplantation, which we discuss in detail: (1) hyperacute xenograft rejection, (2) acute humoral xenograft rejection, and (3) acute cellular rejection. Furthermore, in studies on immunological rejection, genetically modified pigs have been generated to bridge cross-species molecular incompatibilities; in the last decade, most advances made in the field of xenotransplantation have resulted from the production of genetically engineered pigs; accordingly, we summarize the genetically modified pigs that are currently available for xenotransplantation. Next, we summarize the longest survival time of solid organs in preclinical models in recent years, including heart, liver, kidney, and lung xenotransplantation. Overall, we conclude that recent achievements and the accumulation of experience in xenotransplantation mean that the first-in-human clinical trial could be possible in the near future. Furthermore, we hope that xenotransplantation and various approaches will be able to collectively solve the problem of human organ shortage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Lu
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, The Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Bochao Yang
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, The Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Ruolin Wang
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, The Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Chuan Qin
- Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, The Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Beijing Engineering Research Center for Experimental Animal Models of Human Critical Diseases, Beijing, China
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Cooper DKC, Hara H, Iwase H, Yamamoto T, Jagdale A, Kumar V, Mannon RB, Hanaway MJ, Anderson DJ, Eckhoff DE. Clinical Pig Kidney Xenotransplantation: How Close Are We? J Am Soc Nephrol 2019; 31:12-21. [PMID: 31792154 DOI: 10.1681/asn.2019070651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients with ESKD who would benefit from a kidney transplant face a critical and continuing shortage of kidneys from deceased human donors. As a result, such patients wait a median of 3.9 years to receive a donor kidney, by which time approximately 35% of transplant candidates have died while waiting or have been removed from the waiting list. Those of blood group B or O may experience a significantly longer waiting period. This problem could be resolved if kidneys from genetically engineered pigs offered an alternative with an acceptable clinical outcome. Attempts to accomplish this have followed two major paths: deletion of pig xenoantigens, as well as insertion of "protective" human transgenes to counter the human immune response. Pigs with up to nine genetic manipulations are now available. In nonhuman primates, administering novel agents that block the CD40/CD154 costimulation pathway, such as an anti-CD40 mAb, suppresses the adaptive immune response, leading to pig kidney graft survival of many months without features of rejection (experiments were terminated for infectious complications). In the absence of innate and adaptive immune responses, the transplanted pig kidneys have generally displayed excellent function. A clinical trial is anticipated within 2 years. We suggest that it would be ethical to offer a pig kidney transplant to selected patients who have a life expectancy shorter than the time it would take for them to obtain a kidney from a deceased human donor. In the future, the pigs will also be genetically engineered to control the adaptive immune response, thus enabling exogenous immunosuppressive therapy to be significantly reduced or eliminated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hidetaka Hara
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery and
| | - Hayato Iwase
- Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery and
| | | | | | - Vineeta Kumar
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Roslyn Bernstein Mannon
- Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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Zhou H, Hara H, Cooper DK. The complex functioning of the complement system in xenotransplantation. Xenotransplantation 2019; 26:e12517. [PMID: 31033064 PMCID: PMC6717021 DOI: 10.1111/xen.12517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The role of complement in xenotransplantation is well-known and is a topic that has been reviewed previously. However, our understanding of the immense complexity of its interaction with other constituents of the innate immune response and of the coagulation, adaptive immune, and inflammatory responses to a xenograft is steadily increasing. In addition, the complement system plays a function in metabolism and homeostasis. New reviews at intervals are therefore clearly warranted. The pathways of complement activation, the function of the complement system, and the interaction between complement and coagulation, inflammation, and the adaptive immune system in relation to xenotransplantation are reviewed. Through several different mechanisms, complement activation is a major factor in contributing to xenograft failure. In the organ-source pig, the detrimental influence of the complement system is seen during organ harvest and preservation, for example, in ischemia-reperfusion injury. In the recipient, the effect of complement can be seen through its interaction with the immune, coagulation, and inflammatory responses. Genetic-engineering and other therapeutic methods by which the xenograft can be protected from the effects of complement activation are discussed. The review provides an updated source of reference to this increasingly complex subject.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongmin Zhou
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
- Xenotransplantation Program, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Hidetaka Hara
- Xenotransplantation Program, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - David K.C. Cooper
- Xenotransplantation Program, Department of Surgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
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Cooper DK, Ekser B, Ramsoondar J, Phelps C, Ayares D. The role of genetically engineered pigs in xenotransplantation research. J Pathol 2016; 238:288-99. [PMID: 26365762 PMCID: PMC4689670 DOI: 10.1002/path.4635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 09/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
There is a critical shortage in the number of deceased human organs that become available for the purposes of clinical transplantation. This problem might be resolved by the transplantation of organs from pigs genetically engineered to protect them from the human immune response. The pathobiological barriers to successful pig organ transplantation in primates include activation of the innate and adaptive immune systems, coagulation dysregulation and inflammation. Genetic engineering of the pig as an organ source has increased the survival of the transplanted pig heart, kidney, islet and corneal graft in non-human primates (NHPs) from minutes to months or occasionally years. Genetic engineering may also contribute to any physiological barriers that might be identified, as well as to reducing the risks of transfer of a potentially infectious micro-organism with the organ. There are now an estimated 40 or more genetic alterations that have been carried out in pigs, with some pigs expressing five or six manipulations. With the new technology now available, it will become increasingly common for a pig to express even more genetic manipulations, and these could be tested in the pig-to-NHP models to assess their efficacy and benefit. It is therefore likely that clinical trials of pig kidney, heart and islet transplantation will become feasible in the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- David K.C. Cooper
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
| | - Burcin Ekser
- Transplant Division, Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
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Cooper DKC, Ekser B, Tector AJ. Immunobiological barriers to xenotransplantation. Int J Surg 2015; 23:211-216. [PMID: 26159291 PMCID: PMC4684773 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2015.06.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2015] [Accepted: 06/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Binding of natural anti-pig antibodies in humans and nonhuman primates to carbohydrate antigens expressed on the transplanted pig organ, the most important of which is galactose-α1,3-galactose (Gal), activate the complement cascade, which results in destruction of the graft within minutes or hours, known as hyperacute rejection. Even if antibody is removed from the recipient's blood by plasmapheresis, recovery of antibody is associated with acute humoral xenograft rejection. If immunosuppressive therapy is inadequate, the development of high levels of T cell-dependent elicited anti-pig IgG similarly results in graft destruction, though classical acute cellular rejection is rarely seen. Vascular endothelial activation by low levels of anti-nonGal antibody, coupled with dysregulation of the coagulation-anticoagulation systems between pigs and primates, leads to a thrombotic microangiopathy in the graft that may be associated with a consumptive coagulopathy in the recipient. The most successful approach to overcoming these barriers is by genetically-engineering the pig to provide it with resistance to the human humoral and cellular immune responses and to correct the coagulation discrepancies between the two species. Organs and cells from pigs that (i) do not express the important Gal antigen, (ii) express a human complement-regulatory protein, and (iii) express a human coagulation-regulatory protein, when combined with an effective immunosuppressive regimen, have been associated with prolonged pig graft survival in nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- David K C Cooper
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - Burcin Ekser
- Transplant Division, Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - A Joseph Tector
- Transplant Division, Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
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Azimzadeh AM, Kelishadi SS, Ezzelarab MB, Singh AK, Stoddard T, Iwase H, Zhang T, Burdorf L, Sievert E, Avon C, Cheng X, Ayares D, Horvath KA, Corcoran PC, Mohiuddin MM, Barth RN, Cooper DKC, Pierson RN. Early graft failure of GalTKO pig organs in baboons is reduced by expression of a human complement pathway-regulatory protein. Xenotransplantation 2015; 22:310-6. [PMID: 26174749 DOI: 10.1111/xen.12176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
We describe the incidence of early graft failure (EGF, defined as loss of function from any cause within 3 days after transplant) in a large cohort of GalTKO pig organs transplanted into baboons in three centers, and the effect of additional expression of a human complement pathway-regulatory protein, CD46 or CD55 (GalTKO.hCPRP). Baboon recipients of life-supporting GalTKO kidney (n = 7) or heterotopic heart (n = 14) grafts received either no immunosuppression (n = 4), or one of several partial or full immunosuppressive regimens (n = 17). Fourteen additional baboons received a GalTKO.hCPRP kidney (n = 5) or heart (n = 9) and similar treatment regimens. Immunologic, pathologic, and coagulation parameters were measured at frequent intervals. EGF of GalTKO organs occurred in 9/21 baboons (43%). hCPRP expression reduced the GalTKO EGF incidence to 7% (1/14; P < 0.01 vs. GalTKO alone). At 30 mins, complement deposits were more intense in organs in which EGF developed (P < 0.005). The intensity of peri-transplant platelet activation (as β-thromboglobulin release) correlated with EGF, as did the cumulative coagulation score (P < 0.01). We conclude that (i) the transgenic expression of a hCPRP on the vascular endothelium of a GalTKO pig reduces the incidence of EGF and reduces complement deposition, (ii) complement deposition and platelet activation correlate with early GalTKO organ failure, and (iii) the expression of a hCPRP reduces EGF but does not prevent systemic coagulation activation. Additional strategies will be required to control coagulation activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes M Azimzadeh
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sean S Kelishadi
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Mohamed B Ezzelarab
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Avneesh K Singh
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Program, NHLBI/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tiffany Stoddard
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hayato Iwase
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Tianshu Zhang
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Lars Burdorf
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Evelyn Sievert
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Chris Avon
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiangfei Cheng
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Keith A Horvath
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Program, NHLBI/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Philip C Corcoran
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Program, NHLBI/NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | | | - Rolf N Barth
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - David K C Cooper
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Richard N Pierson
- University of Maryland School of Medicine and Baltimore VAMC, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Starzl TE, Rao AS, Murase N, Demetris AJ, Thomson A, Fung JJ. Chimerism and xenotransplantation. New concepts. Surg Clin North Am 1999; 79:191-205. [PMID: 10073189 PMCID: PMC2974311 DOI: 10.1016/s0039-6109(05)70014-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In both transplant and infectious circumstances, the immune response is governed by migration and localization of the antigen. If the antigenic epitopes of transgenic xenografts are sufficiently altered to avoid evoking the destructive force of innate immunity, the mechanisms of engraftment should be the same as those that permit the chimerism-dependent immunologic confrontation and resolution that is the basis of allograft acceptance. In addition to "humanizing" the epitopes, one of the unanswered questions is whether the species restriction of complement described in 1994 by Valdivia and colleagues also necessitates the introduction of human complement regulatory genes in animal donors. Because the liver is the principal or sole source of most complement components, the complement quickly is transformed to that of the donor after hepatic transplantation. Thus, the need for complementary regulatory transgenes may vary according to the kind of xenograft used. Much evidence shows that physiologically important peptides produced by xenografts (e.g., insulin, clotting factors, and enzymes) are incorporated into the metabolic machinery of the recipient body. To the extent that this is not true, xenotransplantation could result in the production of diseases that are analogous to inborn errors of metabolism. In the climate of pessimism that followed the failures of baboon to human liver xenotransplantation in 1992-1993, it seemed inconceivable that the use of even more discordant donors, such as the pig, could ever be seriously entertained; however, this preceded insight into the xenogeneic and allogeneic barriers that has brought transplantation infectious immunity to common ground. With this new insight and the increasing ease of producing transgenic donors, the goal of clinical xenotransplantation may not be so distant.
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Affiliation(s)
- T E Starzl
- Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Abstract
RNA analysis of mice transgenic for human CD46 reveals almost undetectable levels of the expected transcript and the accumulation of a 900 nt shorter species. cDNA cloning and sequence analysis of this variant demonstrate an aberrant splicing of the transgene RNA. This aberrant splicing is present at low levels in cells that normally express the gene, suggesting that the transgene is lacking regulatory elements influencing the abundance of the shorter transcript.
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Affiliation(s)
- L C Mulder
- IRIS, The Chiron Biocine Immunobiological Research Institute, Siena, Italy
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