67 research outputs found
Potential benefits and risks of clinical xenotransplantation
No full textThe transplantation of organs and cells from pigs into humans could overcome the critical and continuing problem of the lack of availability of deceased human organs and cells for clinical transplantation. Developments in the genetic engineering of pigs have enabled considerable progress to be made in the experimental laboratory in overcoming the immune barriers to successful xenotransplantation. With regard to pig organ xenotransplantation, antibody- and cell-mediated rejection have largely been overcome, and the current major barrier is the development of coagulation dysregulation. This is believed to be due to a combination of immune activation of the vascular endothelial cells of the graft and molecular incompatibilities between the pig and primate coagulation-anticoagulation systems. Pigs with new genetic modifications specifically directed to this problem are now becoming available. With regard to less complex tissues, such as islets (for the treatment of diabetes), neuronal cells (for the treatment of Parkinson's disease), and corneas, the remaining barriers are less problematic, and graft survival in nonhuman primate models extends for > 1 year in all three cases. In planning the initial clinical trials, consideration will be concentrated on the risk-benefit ratio, based to a large extent on the results of preclinical studies in nonhuman primates. If the benefit to the patient is anticipated to be high, eg, insulin-independent control of glycemia, and the potential risks low, eg, minimal risk of transfer of a porcine infectious agent, then a clinical trial would be justified. © 2012 Cooper and Ayares, publisher and licensee Dove Medical Press Ltd
The use of tacrolimus (FK506) and antimetabolites as immunosuppressants for xenotransplantation across closely related rodent species
No full textBaboon liver xenotransplantation in humans: Clinical experience and principles learned. (Chapter 58)
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Immunologic benefits of spleen transplantation in the absence of graft-versus-host disease
No full textComparison of different techniques in optical trap for generating picokelvin 3D atom cloud in microgravity
No full textNational Natural Science Foundation of China [91336103, 61027016, 61078026, 10934010]; National Fundamental Research Program of China [SQ2010CB511493, 2011CB921501]Pursuing ultralow temperature 3D atom gas under microgravity conditions is one of the popular topics in the field of ultracold research. Many groups around the world are using, or are planning to use, delta-kick cooling (DKC) in microgravity. Our group has also proposed a two-stage crossed beam cooling (TSCBC) method that also provides a path to picokelvin temperatures. In this paper, we compare the characteristics of TSCBC and DKC for producing a picokelvin system in microgravity. Using a direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, we simulate the cooling process of Rb-87 using the two different cooling techniques. Under the same initial conditions, Rb-87 can reach 7 pK in 15 s using TSCBC and 75 pK in 5.1 s with DKC. The simulation results show that TSCBC can reach lower temperatures compared with DKC, but needs more time and a more stable laser. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Xenotransplantation: A historical ethical account of viewpoints
No full textFormal clinical trials of pig-to-human organ transplant—known as xenotransplantation—may begin this decade, with the first trials likely to consist of either adult renal transplants or pediatric cardiac transplant patients. Xenotransplantation as a systematic scientific study only reaches back to the latter half of the 20th century, with episodic xenotransplantation events occurring prior to that. As the science of xenotransplantation has progressed in the 20th and 21st centuries, the public's knowledge of the potential therapy has also increased. With this, there have been shifting ethical stances toward xenotransplantation in key areas, such as religious and public viewpoints towards xenotransplantation, animal rights, and public health concerns. This review provides a historical–ethical account of xenotransplantation and details if or how viewpoints have shifted over time
Organs from animals for man
No full textIn the following review some of the problems of xenotransplantation shall be discussed, based on the few experimental data available so far and on reports in the literature describing investigations which may be of importance for xenotransplantation. The impact of gravity on the upright posture of man versus almost all other mammals, the dysfunction between enzymes and hormones in different species and the lack of interactions between interleukins, cytokines and vasoactive substances will be taken into consideration. The question must be asked whether different levels of carrier molecules or serum proteins play a role in the physiological network. Even though the development of transgenic animals or other imaginative manipulations may lead to the acceptance of any type of xenografted organ, it has to be established for how long the products of the xenografts are able to act in the multifactorial orchestra. We are far from understanding xenogeneic molecular mechanisms involved in toxicity, necrosis and apoptosis or even reperfusion injury and ischemia in addition to the immediate mechanisms of the hyperacute xenogeneic rejection. Here, cell adhesion, blood clotting and vasomotion collide and bring micro-and macrocirculation to a standstill. All types of xenogeneic immunological mechanisms studied so far were found to have a more serious impact than those seen in allogeneic transplantation. In addition we are now only beginning to understand that so-called immunological parameters in allogeneic mechanisms act also in a true physiological manner in the xenogeneic situation. These molecular mechanisms occur behind the curtain of hyperacute, accelerated, acute or chronic xenograft rejection of which only some folds have been lifted to allow glimpses of part of the total scene. Other obstacles are likely to arise when long-term survival is achieved. These obstacles include retroviral infections, transfer of prions and severe side effects of the massive immunosuppression which will be needed. Moral, ethical and religious concerns are under debate and the species-specific production of proteins of the foreign donor species developed for clinical use suddenly appears to be a greater problem than anticipated
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