Porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) was not transmitted from transplanted porcine endothelial cells to baboons in vivo

Abstract The discussion about the clinical risk of zoonoses in xenotransplantation has recently culminated in the demand for a moratorium on clinical organ transplantation using pig donors. The basis for this discussion was a recent report showing a possible trans-species transmission of pig endogenous retrovirus (PERV) by in vitro transfer to human cell lines. At present, it remains unclear if this could also happen in vivo or in the setting of xenotransplantation. Potential in vivo transfer of PERV after xenotransplantation was investigated in an experimental pig-to-baboon cell transplantation model. Baboons were immunosuppressed with high-dose cyclophosphamide (total 45–150 mg/kg) and transplanted with primary porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAEC). Tissue samples (skin, lymph nodes, lung) and peripheral blood leukocytes of 15 baboons, taken about 12–24 months after transplantation of PAEC, were then analyzed by PCR and showed no PERV infection. PERV expression in PAEC was also analyzed: PERV mRNA and reverse transcriptase in the culture supernatant could be detected. In spite of the release of retroviral particles from cultured PAEC, transplantation of these cells into baboon recipients did not result in virus transmission, not even under heavy immunosuppression.

[1]  H. Fineberg,et al.  Uncertainty in xenotransplantation: Individual benefit versus collective risk , 1998, Nature Medicine.

[2]  M. Wadman.  FDA turns down moratorium demand on xenotransplants , 1998, Nature.

[3]  D. Butler.  Poll reveals backing for xenotransplants , 1998, Nature.

[4]  R. Weiss.  Transgenic pigs and virus adaptation , 1998, Nature.

[5]  H. Fineberg,et al.  Call for moratorium on xenotransplants , 1998, Nature.

[6]  X. Lin,et al.  Alteration of glycosylation renders HIV sensitive to inactivation by normal human serum. , 1997, Journal of immunology.

[7]  Yasuhiro Takeuchi,et al.  Infection of human cells by an endogenous retrovirus of pigs , 1997, Nature Medicine.

[8]  W. Heneine,et al.  Highly sensitive and specific polymerase chain reaction assays for detection of baboon and pig cells following xenotransplantation in humans. , 1996, Transplantation.

[9]  C. Porter,et al.  Sensitization of cells and retroviruses to human serum by (αl-3) galactosyltransferase , 1996, Nature.

[10]  E. Setter,et al.  A novel mechanism of retrovirus inactivation in human serum mediated by anti-alpha-galactosyl natural antibody , 1995, The Journal of experimental medicine.

[11]  J. Silver,et al.  An RT-PCR assay for the enzyme activity of reverse transcriptase capable of detecting single virions. , 1993, Nucleic acids research.

[12]  Xenotransplantation. Alternative ways of meeting demand. , 1998, Nature.

[13]  C. Porter,et al.  Sensitization of cells and retroviruses to human serum by (alpha 1-3) galactosyltransferase. , 1996, Nature.