Steve Wood/University of Alabama at Birmingham
A team of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham biopsied the kidneys of transgenic pigs.
CNN
—
A new advance in transplanting pig kidneys into humans, detailed by two separate research teams on Wednesday, is the evolution of xenotransplantation, the use of non-human tissues and organs to treat human medical conditions. It represents an important advance in the field.
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hersink School of Medicine have found that transplanted kidneys not only produce urine, but also provide a “life-sustaining renal function” that filters waste products, the report says. Announced. research letter It was published in JAMA Surgical Journal.
and at a press conference on the ongoing case studya team from New York University Langone Health highlighted the long-term success of the transplant.
Both research teams used transgenic pig kidneys transplanted into recipients who had undergone brain death in what is considered a preclinical human study.
Healthy kidneys filter a waste product called creatinine from the blood. Measuring serum creatinine levels can help determine how well this process is working.
Other studies have demonstrated that this can occur when pig kidneys are transplanted into non-human primates. However, creatinine comes from a chemical that provides energy to muscles, and its amount varies with muscle mass. Also, the average adult is much larger than other primates.
“Being able to demonstrate that the kidneys of these pigs not only made urine, but were also able to remove creatinine, and that adults can do that, is absolutely critical and important before becoming a living human being.” said Dr Jamie Locke, director of the center. UAB’s General Transplantation Institute and lead author of the new study.
“The purpose of the transplant is not just to make urine. The kidneys must be able to function and remove toxic substances from the body, and we were able to show that.”
The UAB study was conducted in a 52-year-old man with hypertension and stage 2 chronic kidney disease. At the request of his family, his name was not released.
Prior to transplantation, serum creatinine levels were well above normal. However, they decreased in half within 24 hours after transplantation, normalized by 48 hours, and remained in normal ranges throughout the remainder of the study, which lasted 7 days from start to finish.
In human-to-human transplants, kidneys from live donors tended to function better and faster than kidneys from dead donors, and pig kidneys behaved more like transplants from live donors. , said Professor Locke.
“What this means is that these are wonderful kidneys, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future they will provide really great functionality to living humans,” said Professor Locke.
Researchers at the University of New York University of Langone haven’t released the results of their ongoing study, but shared an update on Wednesday.
For nearly two months, the researchers have been monitoring pig kidney transplants for a brain-dead man named Maurice Miller, who died of a brain tumor. Several immunosuppressants were used, but pig thymus was also transplanted to protect the kidneys from attack by the human immune system.
“There is no evidence of rejection, normal kidney function, or clearing of toxins,” said Dr. Robert Montgomery, director of the Langone Transplant Institute at New York University and chief of surgery. “The pig kidney appears to replace all the important roles that the human kidney manages.”
The researchers said more research, including studies in live human recipients, is needed to establish whether porcine kidney transplantation could be a bridge or ultimate treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease, but progress has been made. said he hopes to see
Get CNN Health’s weekly newsletter
Adam Griesemer, M.D., chief of surgery at New York University Langone Pediatric Liver Transplant and Living Donor Transplant Programs, said at a press conference Wednesday, “There is significant evidence about how pig kidneys function in the human environment. It is being taken away,” he said.
“Over the past 20 years, we have obtained a great deal of information about how pig kidneys replace primate functions. Is it translated correctly to ?”. – was unknown. And for the first time, we are able to provide that information. So we hope this gives the FDA some assurance of safety as it initiates Phase 1 clinical trials. ”
The majority of people waiting for an organ transplant need a kidney. There are about 89,000 people on the waiting list, according to the company. data From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Organ Procurement and Transplant Network.