Science: Mini-pig Clone Raises Transplant Hope

Society | January 17, 2003, Friday // 00:00

The cloning of a miniature pig lacking both copies of a gene involved in immediate immune rejection has brought the prospect of transplanting pig organs into people a little closer. The small pig's organs are similar in size to those of humans and the missing genes make the organs less likely to be rejected. The birth of two-month-old Goldie, cloned by the US-based Immerge BioTherapeutics, was announced in New Zealand. The cloning process is important because it ensures all the cells in all the pigs produced are missing the desired gene. Thousands of people die every year while waiting for organ transplants and the company hopes to create a herd of miniature pigs that can be used as a source of organs for human transplantation.

Goldie lacks both copies of a gene called alpha-1-galactosyltransferase, which codes for an enzyme that adds a sugar to the surface of pig cells. It is this sugar that would be attacked by human antibodies after transplant. But with both copies of the gene deleted, the antibodies fail to attach and rejection is prevented.

Clinical studies of the double-knock-out pig tissue in primates are now planned, Immerge says.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Society » Be a reporter: Write and send your article

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria