Virus safety of islet cell transplantation from transgenic pigs to marmosets

Why was PERV not transmitted during preclinical and clinical xenotransplantation trials and after inoculation of animals?

“…Although the receptor in African green monkeys is not different from the human receptor at position 109, PERV infection is still poor. The receptor in marmosets is also equal to that of humans but it is unknown whether it is functional [ 53 ]. The receptor on murine cells is also a variant and is not functional [ 54 ].…”

Microbiological characterization of a newly established pig breed, Aachen Minipigs

“…The G€ oMP are produced by Ellegaard in Denmark in a specific pathogen-free (SPF) facility and their physiologic parameters, health status, and genetics are well defined [7,8]. In addition, the animals are screened twice a year for 27 bacteria, 16 viruses, three fungi, and four parasites (http//www.minipigs.dk/). When we studied G€ oMP, we found porcine endogenous retrovirus-A (PERV-A), PERV-B, and PERV-C in the genome of all animals; however, the expression was extremely low [9].…”

Is it currently possible to evaluate the risk posed by PERVs for clinical xenotransplantation?

“…In all these studies, and also in more recent transplantations not listed in Ref. , that is, studies on islet cell transplantation in marmosets and cynomolgus monkeys, no PERV transmission was observed. However, as the PERV receptor in NHPs is not functional, these results cannot be used to evaluate the safety of xenotransplantation using pig cells and organs (Table ).…”