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UCD researcher receives ERC Consolidator grant to unlock computational insights into cardiac xenotransplantation

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Reviewed by Megan Craig, M.Sc.

Dr Philip Cardiff, Associate Professor at University College Dublin’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has received a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator grant of €2 million for his 5-year project XenoSim. With the support of this award, Dr Cardiff will develop advanced computational techniques that can provide unprecedented insights into the cutting-edge realm of pig-to-human heart transplants

ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to help excellent scientists, who have 7-12 years’ experience after their PhDs, to pursue their most promising ideas. Read the full article from News Medical Life Sciences.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine surgeons to receive $21.4 million to advance xenotransplantation research

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As part of the worldwide effort to facilitate a research and clinical pathway toward successful xenotransplantation -; the transplantation of living cells, tissues and organs from one species to another -; two Johns Hopkins Medicine surgeons, Kazuhiko Yamada, M.D., Ph.D., and Andrew Cameron, M.D., Ph.D., will receive a total of $21.4 million in funding over the next two years under two sponsored research agreements with biotechnology company United Therapeutics Corporation. The company focuses on developing novel pharmaceutical therapies and technologies that expand the availability of transplantable organs. Read more from News Medical Life Sciences.

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Researchers confirm successful rehabilitation and recovery of human donor lungs previously deemed unfit for transplant

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Study demonstrates that a novel technique for regenerating donor lungs can increase the number of organs available for life-saving transplantation

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — A novel method for supporting and recovering donor lungs outside the body shows potential to increase the number of organs available for transplant, according to a recent study published in The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. Read the complete press release on Yahoo.com.

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The Gift of Life Is Multiplied Exponentially with Whole-Body Donation

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When Alva Capuano was discovered unconscious in her living room, her husband, Richard, and then paramedics did everything possible to get her heart beating again. But by the time it did, her brain had experienced irreversible damage. Her family accepted that Alva, 64, was gone. Their sorrow fueled a determination to fulfill her last wish: As the recipient of a donated pancreas and kidney, Alva had hoped to become an organ donor herself.
Read the article from NYU Langone Health NewsHub.

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Here’s What’s Next for Pig Organ Transplants

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2022 was a breakthrough year for xenotransplantation, a procedure that could be a lifeline for patients in desperate need of a donor.

THE NIGHT BEFORE the transplant, surgeon Bartley Griffith didn’t sleep well. When he awoke around 3 am and went to make a cup of coffee, he forgot to put his mug below the machine and ended up with coffee all over the floor.  Read the full story in Wired.

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Study demonstrates unexpected electrical changes in first successful transplant of genetically-modified pig heart

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Ten months after transplanting the first genetically-modified pig heart into a human patient, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers continue to report on new findings from the landmark transplant. Their latest study demonstrates for the first time that unexpected electrical changes occurred in the pig heart transplanted into the patient David Bennett. The findings were presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) meeting this past weekend. Read more in News Medical Life Sciences.

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Puzzling, Unique ECG From Pig-to-Human Transplanted Heart

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In the first transplant of a genetically altered pig heart into a human in January, initial unexpected, prolonged ECG readings apparently did not affect the heart’s function, although the organ suddenly began to fail at day 50.

A study of these ECG changes, scheduled for presentation by Calvin Kagan, MD, and colleagues at the American Heart Association (AHA) 2022 Scientific Sessions, offers insight into this novel operation. Read more in Medscape.

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First pig-to-human cardiac transplant alters heart’s electrical signals

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A recent study to be presented at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2022* revealed unexpected changes in the electrical conduction system of the first genetically-modified porcine-to-human heart xenotransplant.

Xenotransplantation is the procedure of transplantation/implantation into a human of organs from non-human animal sources. Read more in News Medical Life Sciences.

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The Search Is On for Another Xeno Heart Transplant Recipient

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— Transplant surgeons discuss testing the concept in more humans


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NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Playing by the strict rules of the FDA, xenotransplant researchers are itching to apply the lessons learned from this year’s historic case of cardiac surgery in their quest to move the transplant field forward amid a strained supply of donor organs.

In the landmark case, the first person to undergo a pig heart xenotransplant, David Bennett, age 57, had been denied a traditional human heart transplant from several programs before he ultimately agreed to the experimental surgery. The FDA green-lit the xenotransplant, and Bennett was kept alive for 60 days before succumbing to graft failure and sudden diastolic failure without evidence of traditional allograft rejection.
Read the full story in MedPage Today.

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Genetically Engineered Porcine Organs for Human Xenotransplantation

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Abstract

Xenotransplantation holds a promising future for many patients, especially those with end-stage renal disease or uncontrollable serum glucose levels. Porcine organs are viewed as the perfect candidate for a source of xenografts. However, the recipient’s immunity, incompatibility of biologic systems, and transfer of new pathogenic organisms are all obstacles to clinical xenotransplantation, in addition to the risk of zoonosis and xenoantigens. Genetic modification of pigs using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) resulted in the production of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV)-free offsprings with the consequent removal of many clinical complications post-transplantation. Read the complete abstract from Cureus.

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