Scientists create pigs for transplant into humans for the first time – El Nacional

TOKYO.- For the first time in Japan, scientists at Meiji University-affiliated company PorMedTech, in collaboration with American biotechnology company Egenesis, have modified pigs to perform cell and organ transplants into humans.

The team at the forefront of xenotransplant research – transplantation between species – said in a statement today that three genetically modified piglets were born last Sunday with the aim of creating cells and organs to transplant into humans.

According to the company, Japan is struggling with a shortage of organ donors and in recent years “only 3% of people requesting a transplant have received an organ donation”, which is “a challenge to the clinical application of xenogeneic organ transplantation.” Raises expectations about”.

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“We hope to use this as an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of human organ transplantation,” PorMedTech founder and chief scientist Hiroshi Nagashima said in the statement.

The pigs were cloned from another individual developed by Eugenesis in which ten genes were modified to reduce the risk of rejection by the human recipient.

PorMedTech created piglets through nuclear transfer technology of somatic cells to create genetically identical individuals who develop the tissues and organs of multicellular creatures.

The fertilized eggs were implanted in the uterus of a surrogate mother, who had given birth to three pigs by cesarean section and, when confirmed to be growing sufficiently, they were sent to medical institutions in Japan for clinical research. Will be supplied.

The next step for the team of scientists will be to begin research this year on xenotransplants from pigs to monkeys to further address the shortage of organ donors in the Japanese country. PorMedTech concluded in the text, “With the birth of a cloned individual in Japan, clinical application in Japan is expected in the future.”