2024-04-06 06:02:31
Scientists from the company PorMedTec, belonging to Meiji University, have created for the first time in Japan, and together with the American biotechnology company eGenesis, modified pigs to carry out cell and organ transplants to humans.
The team leading the xenotransplant research – transplants between different species – reported in a statement that three genetically modified piglets with the aim of creating cells and organs to transplant into humans were born last Sunday (02/11/2024).
A response to scarcity
Japan suffers from a shortage of organ donors and in recent years “only about 3% of people who requested a transplant received one,” which “raises expectations for the clinical application of xenogeneic organ transplants,” according to the company.
According to the Nikkei Asia site, there are plans to conduct clinical trials for cross-species transplants of pigs and humans starting in 2025, with kidney transplantation being one of the first goals.
“We hope to use this as an opportunity to consider the challenges of human organ transplants,” PorMedTec founder and chief scientist Hiroshi Nagashima said in the statement.
The pigs were cloned from another individual developed by eGenesis that had ten genes modified to reduce the risk of rejection by a human recipient.
PorMedTec created the piglets through nuclear transfer technology of somatic cells, which make up the growth of tissues and organs of multicellular beings, to create genetically identical individuals.
The fertilized eggs were transplanted into the uterus of a surrogate mother who gave birth to the three pigs by cesarean section and, when confirmed to grow adequately, they will be supplied to medical institutions in Japan for clinical research.
The next step for the team of scientists will be to begin research this year on xenotransplants from pigs to monkeys to advance the solution to the shortage of organ donors in the Japanese country.
“With the birth of a cloned individual in Japan, there is hope for clinical application in Japan in the future,” PorMedTec concluded in the text.
Source: DW