WZS‐pig is a potential donor alternative in corneal xenotransplantation

Abstract

Rejection of pig-rhesus xenografts occurred early in penetrating corneal transplantation, but not in lamellar corneal transplantation. The endothelium of the xenograft might be a primary target of immune attack. Corticosteroid treatment inhibited rejection of the corneal xenografts.

Identification of α-Gal and non-Gal Epitopes in Pig Corneal Endothelial Cells and Keratocytes by Using Mass Spectrometry

“…13 In fact, Pan et al reported that HAR did not occur immediately after a pig-to-rhesus corneal transplantation, although they did not evaluate the expression of xenoantigens. 37 Accordingly, the expression of α-Gal and non-Gal antigens on cultivated corneal cells in this study may not be a direct clue to indicate the involvement of these xenoantigens in the immune rejection after corneal xenotransplantation. Nevertheless, we believe that the characterization of pig corneal cells in the present and future work would have a significant value as the basic data for potential use of pig cornea for human substitution.…”

Inbred Chinese Wuzhishan (WZS) Minipig Model for Soybean Glycinin and β-Conglycinin Allergy

“…Owing to the small size, simple operation, and striking similarities to man with respect to anatomy and physiology, minipigs are commonly used as experimental animals in research on the cardiac and vascular system, digestive system, reproductive system, dermatology, and nutriology (13) Among them, the WZS minipig was the first to be cultivated and inbred after being introduced from Wuzhishan, Hainan, China in 1987 (14). After 20 generations of inbreeding, the WZS minipig now has the highest inbreeding coefficient (more than 0.965) (15), stable heredity, and little variability between individual animals.…”

Dextran Preserves Native Corneal Structure During Decellularization

“…This approach, suffers a number of limitations including a shortage of suitable donor tissue in many countries. In recent years, corneal tissue engineering has emerged as a promising alternative to transplantation and significant progress has been made in this area with keratoprostheses (4,5), xenografts (6)(7)(8) and tissue-engineered corneas (9) entering clinical or pre-clinical development.…”