Lab Anim Res.  2014 Jun;30(2):90-93. 10.5625/lar.2014.30.2.90.

No expression of porcine endogenous retrovirus after pig to monkey xenotransplantation

• Hwang S
• Jung YD
• Cho K
• Ock SA
• Oh KB
• Kim HS
• Yun IJ
• Ahn C
• Park JK
• Im S

• KMID: 1707449
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5625/lar.2014.30.2.90

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the expression of two porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) elements, PERV gag and full-length conserved PERV, in blood cells collected periodically from organ-recipient monkeys that underwent pig to non-human primate xenotransplantation. The heart and kidney-respectively acquired from alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GT-KO) pigs that survived for24 and 25 days-were xenografted into cynomolgus monkeys. The two PERV elements expressed in the xenografted GT-KO pig organs were not present in the blood cells of the recipient monkeys. In the present study, we deduced that PERVs are not transmitted during GT-KO pig to monkey xenotransplantation.

Keyword

PERV transmission; GT-KO pigs; cynomolgus monkey; xenotransplantation; blood cells

MeSH Terms

Blood Cells
Endogenous Retroviruses*
Haplorhini*
Heart
Heterografts
Macaca fascicularis
Primates
Swine
Transplantation, Heterologous*

Figure

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  Figure 1 Expression of PERV gag element in the blood cells from the recipient monkeys. A: Heart xenografted monkey: days before (-) and after (+) xenotransplantation; B: Kidney xenografted monkey: days before (-) and after (+) xenotransplantation; C: Xenografted GT-KO pig organs; 1: kidney-pre-xenotransplantation; 2: kidney-biopsy (day+9); 3: kidney-autopsy (day+25) connected with blood vessel; 4: kidney-autopsy (day+25) main body; 5: heart-autopsy (day+24) lower part; 6: heart-autopsy (day+24) middle part; 7: heart-autopsy (day+24) upper part; 8: heart-autopsy (day+24) connected with blood vessel. The PCR conditions were as follows: initial heating at 94℃ for 5 min; 35 cycles of 94℃ for 40 s, 55℃ (GAPDH) and 59℃ (PERV-gag) for 30 s and 72℃ for 40 s; and a final elongation step for 10 min at 72℃. The size of PCR products was 120 bp (GAPDH) and 150 bp (PERV-gag), respectively.

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  Figure 2 Expression of full-length conserved PERV in the blood cells from the recipient monkeys. A: Heart xenografted monkey: days before (-) and after (+) xenotransplantation; B: Kidney xenografted monkey: days before (-) and after (+) xenotransplantation; C: Xenografted GT-KO pig organs; 1: kidney-pre-xenotransplantation; 2: kidney-biopsy (day+9); 3: kidney-autopsy (day+25) connected with blood vessel; 4: kidney-autopsy (day+25) main body; 5: heart-autopsy (day+24) lower part; 6: heart-autopsy (day+24) middle part; 7: heart-autopsy (day+24) upper part; 8: heart-autopsy (day+24) connected with blood vessel. The PCR conditions were as follows: initial heating at 94℃ for 5 min; 35 cycles of 94℃ for 40 s, 55℃ (for GAPDH and full-length conserved PERV) for 30 s and 72℃ for 40 s; and a final elongation step for 10 min at 72℃. The size of PCR products was 120 bp (GAPDH) and 108 bp (full-length conserved PERV), respectively.

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