BACKGROUND: Recent survivals of our pig-to-baboon kidney xenotransplants have been markedly shorter than the graft survivals we previously reported. The discovery of high levels of porcine cytomegalovirus (pCMV) in one of the rejected xenografts led us to evaluate whether this reduction in graft survival might be because of the inadvertent introduction of pCMV into our α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene knockout swine herd. METHODS: Archived frozen sections of xeno-kidney grafts over the past 10 years were analyzed for the presence of pCMV, using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Three prospective pig-to-baboon renal transplants using kidneys from swine delivered by cesarean section (C-section) and raised in isolation were likewise analyzed. RESULTS: Kidney grafts, from which 8 of the 18 archived samples were derived were found to be pCMV-negative, showed a mean graft survival of 48.3 days and were from transplants performed before 2008. None showed signs of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and were lost because of proteinuria or infectious complications. In contrast, 10 of the archived samples were pCMV positive, were from kidney transplants with a mean graft survival of 14.1 days, had been performed after 2008, and demonstrated early vascular changes and decreased platelet counts. Three prospective xenografts from swine delivered by C-section were pCMV negative and survived an average of 53.0 days. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased survivals of α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene knockout renal xenografts in this laboratory correlate temporally with latent pCMV in the donor animals and pCMV in the rejected xeno-kidneys. Transmission of pCMV to swine offspring may be avoided by C-section delivery and scrupulous isolation of donor animals.
BACKGROUND: Recent survivals of our pig-to-baboon kidney xenotransplants have been markedly shorter than the graft survivals we previously reported. The discovery of high levels of porcine cytomegalovirus (pCMV) in one of the rejected xenografts led us to evaluate whether this reduction in graft survival might be because of the inadvertent introduction of pCMV into our α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene knockout swine herd. METHODS: Archived frozen sections of xeno-kidney grafts over the past 10 years were analyzed for the presence of pCMV, using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Three prospective pig-to-baboon renal transplants using kidneys from swine delivered by cesarean section (C-section) and raised in isolation were likewise analyzed. RESULTS: Kidney grafts, from which 8 of the 18 archived samples were derived were found to be pCMV-negative, showed a mean graft survival of 48.3 days and were from transplants performed before 2008. None showed signs of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and were lost because of proteinuria or infectious complications. In contrast, 10 of the archived samples were pCMV positive, were from kidney transplants with a mean graft survival of 14.1 days, had been performed after 2008, and demonstrated early vascular changes and decreased platelet counts. Three prospective xenografts from swine delivered by C-section were pCMV negative and survived an average of 53.0 days. CONCLUSIONS: Decreased survivals of α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene knockout renal xenografts in this laboratory correlate temporally with latent pCMV in the donor animals and pCMV in the rejected xeno-kidneys. Transmission of pCMV to swine offspring may be avoided by C-section delivery and scrupulous isolation of donor animals.
Authors: K Yamada; A Shimizu; F L Ierino; R Utsugi; R N Barth; N Esnaola; R B Colvin; D H Sachs Journal: Transplantation Date: 1999-12-15 Impact factor: 4.939
Authors: Liangxue Lai; Donna Kolber-Simonds; Kwang-Wook Park; Hee-Tae Cheong; Julia L Greenstein; Gi-Sun Im; Melissa Samuel; Aaron Bonk; August Rieke; Billy N Day; Clifton N Murphy; David B Carter; Robert J Hawley; Randall S Prather Journal: Science Date: 2002-01-03 Impact factor: 47.728
Authors: Nicolas J Mueller; Rolf N Barth; Shin Yamamoto; Hiroshi Kitamura; Clive Patience; Kazuhiko Yamada; David K C Cooper; David H Sachs; Amitinder Kaur; Jay A Fishman Journal: J Virol Date: 2002-05 Impact factor: 5.103
Authors: Nicolas J Mueller; Kristen Sulling; Bernd Gollackner; Shin Yamamoto; Christoph Knosalla; Robert A Wilkinson; Amitinder Kaur; David H Sachs; Kazuhiko Yamada; David K C Cooper; Clive Patience; Jay A Fishman Journal: Am J Transplant Date: 2003-09 Impact factor: 8.086
Authors: Rolf N Barth; Shin Yamamoto; John C LaMattina; Naoki Kumagai; Hiroshi Kitamura; Parsia A Vagefi; Michel Awwad; Robert B Colvin; David K C Cooper; Megan Sykes; David H Sachs; Kazuhiko Yamada Journal: Transplantation Date: 2003-05-27 Impact factor: 4.939
Authors: Carol J Phelps; Chihiro Koike; Todd D Vaught; Jeremy Boone; Kevin D Wells; Shu-Hung Chen; Suyapa Ball; Susan M Specht; Irina A Polejaeva; Jeff A Monahan; Pete M Jobst; Sugandha B Sharma; Ashley E Lamborn; Amy S Garst; Marilyn Moore; Anthony J Demetris; William A Rudert; Rita Bottino; Suzanne Bertera; Massimo Trucco; Thomas E Starzl; Yifan Dai; David L Ayares Journal: Science Date: 2002-12-19 Impact factor: 47.728
Authors: Donna Kolber-Simonds; Liangxue Lai; Steven R Watt; Maria Denaro; Scott Arn; Monica L Augenstein; Jeffery Betthauser; David B Carter; Julia L Greenstein; Yanhong Hao; Gi-Sun Im; Zhonghua Liu; Greg D Mell; Clifton N Murphy; Kwang-Wook Park; August Rieke; David J J Ryan; David H Sachs; Erik J Forsberg; Randall S Prather; Robert J Hawley Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2004-05-03 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Laura Higginbotham; Dave Mathews; Cynthia A Breeden; Mingqing Song; Alton Brad Farris; Christian P Larsen; Mandy L Ford; Andrew J Lutz; Matthew Tector; Kenneth A Newell; A Joseph Tector; Andrew B Adams Journal: Xenotransplantation Date: 2015-04-03 Impact factor: 3.907
Authors: J A Shah; M S Patel; N Elias; N Navarro-Alvarez; I Rosales; R A Wilkinson; N J Louras; M Hertl; J A Fishman; R B Colvin; A B Cosimi; J F Markmann; D H Sachs; P A Vagefi Journal: Am J Transplant Date: 2017-06-06 Impact factor: 8.086