Successfully alter swine gene, the path of transplanting porcine organs to human beings can be widely opened

ByNick Saltmarsh

A research team such as Harvard University in the United States succeeded in inactivating a virus that could infect humans by altering the gene of pigs and the realization of "xenotransplantation" of transplanting porcine organs to humans is real It is taking over.

Genome-wide inactivation of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs)
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2015/10/09/science.aad1191

Gene-editing method revives hopes for transplanting pig organs into people | Science / AAAS | News
http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/10/gene-editing-method-revives-hopes-transplanting-pig-organs-people

Gene-editing record smashed in pigs: Nature News & amp; Comment
http://www.nature.com/news/gene-editing-record-smashed-in-pigs-1.18525

Porcine organs are relatively similar in size to human organs, so the possibility of xenotransplantation as to whether pig organs can be transplanted to humans has been studied for decades. However, transplantation of porcine organs to humans causes rejection or is included in the pig's chromosomeRetrovirusHave been identified as risks of infection of humans and viruses have been pointed out, it has been considered difficult to realize.

Meanwhile, research teams such as Dr. George Church of Harvard University announced that they successfully modified 62 pig genes at the same time by "genome editing" using the technique called "CRISPR / Cas 9" .


In addition, you can easily understand about the technology "genome editing" that has stepped into "the area of ​​God" that can freely design genes of organisms by reading the following articles.

What technology is "genome editing" in God's domain that can freely design genes and change the characteristics of living things? - GIGAZINE


Dr. Church and colleagues discovered that there are 62 genes related to 62 retroviruses in the cell by examining kidney epithelial cells in pigs. And by targeting these genes by CRISPR / Cas9 system, we successfully inactivated retrovirus by destroying genes.

In genomic editing using CRISPR / Cas9 up to now, up to 6 genes could be modified at one time, Dr. Church and others succeeded in modifying more than 10 times the genes thereof, Professor Jennifer Duna of the University of California at Berkeley, one of the developers of RISPR / Cas 9, highly appreciates that its dramatic effect will further stimulate the research of other researchers.

It was confirmed that infectivity of retroviruses has been reduced to 1/1000 by culturing porcine kidney cells inactivated by genetic modification and human cells in the same environment It seems that it can be said that the way to transplant pig organs to human being opened wide.

In the future, we plan to challenge full-scale human-pig xenotransplantation by identifying substances that cause rejection in the human immune system and modifying pig genes related to this substance, as soon as possible It is planned to make fertilized pig eggs with organs that can be transplanted to people in 2016. Once this technology is established, it is expected that the shortage of donors, which is the biggest problem of organ transplantation, can be solved.