Using CRISPR to inactivate endogenous retroviruses in pigs: an important step toward safe xenotransplantation?

Michael J Ross; P Toby Coates

doi:10.1016/j.kint.2017.11.004

Using CRISPR to inactivate endogenous retroviruses in pigs: an important step toward safe xenotransplantation?

Kidney Int. 2018 Jan;93(1):4-6. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2017.11.004. Epub 2017 Dec 1.

Authors

Michael J Ross¹, P Toby Coates²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Nephrology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA; Department of Development and Molecular Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Central Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

PMID: 29198467
DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2017.11.004

Abstract

Xenotransplantation could theoretically provide an unlimited supply of organs for patients living with end-stage kidney disease and other end-stage organ failure, but severe rejection and concerns about possible transmission of zoonotic infections remain important obstacles. In a recent study, investigators used CRISPR-cas9 to generate genetically modified pigs in which all endogenous retroviruses were inactivated. This approach may address one important barrier to the feasibility of clinical trials of xenotransplantation.

Keywords: gene expression; gene therapy; microbiology.

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MeSH terms

Animals
CRISPR-Cas Systems
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats
Endogenous Retroviruses*
Humans
Swine
Transplantation, Heterologous