Xenotransplant News

Seventh Congress of the International Xenotransplantation Association

This Congress will take place in the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, UK, between Tuesday, September 30 and Saturday, October 4, 2003. Details of the Congress can be obtained from Concorde Services Ltd (Tel.: +44 (0) 141 331 0123; Fax: +44 (0) 141 331 0234; e‐mail: info@ixa2003.co.uk).

Indian Government Supports Goats as Hepatocyte Source for Humans

According to a report in Nature Medicine (2003;9:491), scientists at the Center for Liver Research and Diagnostics at the Deccan College of Medical Sciences in India are investigating the goat as a source of hepatocytes for transplantation into humans. As a preliminary, hepatocytes from goats are to be transplanted into monkeys. The Indian Department of Biotechnology has funded this research with approximately US$1 million during the past 4 yr.

Human Potential Organ Donors Should Be Assessed for SARS*

Yet another infection in the human donor of potential risk in allotransplantation adds strength to the advantages of xenotransplantation. The US Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Special Programs, Division of Transplantation, has issued a notice to organizations associated with organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation about the continued spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the need to assess potential donors for possible transmission of SARS. The Food and Drug Administration has produced a document titled Guidance for Industry: Recommendations for the Assessment of Donor Suitability and Blood Product Safety in Cases of Suspected SARS or Exposure to SARS, which is available at http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/sarsbld.htm and http://www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/sarsbld.pdf.

The World Health Organization has also called for screening of blood and organ donors for SARS.

The virus of SARS was recently identified as a novel coronavirus (N Engl J Med 2003;348:1953–1966). The available sequence data suggest that it is distinct from coronaviruses previously reported in animals or humans. One similar coronavirus is porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, but the sequence for this virus is distinct from that of the SARS‐associated coronavirus, indicating that porcine epidemic diarrhea virus is not the parent virus to this new coronavirus.

Kaposi's Sarcoma Can Be Passed From Organ Donor To Recipient*

A report in Nature Medicine (2003;9:554–561) from a group at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy indicates that Kaposi's sarcoma in organ transplant recipients can originate in the donor. The researchers used a series of genetic and other laboratory tests to show that, of eight kidney transplant recipients who developed Kaposi's sarcoma, the cancer originated with the donor in five. HHV‐8‐infected pre‐cancerous cells known as progenitors may be transmitted through the kidney graft, persist in the recipient, and give rise to a tumor, which is thus of donor origin. The donors in the study did not have signs of Kaposi's sarcoma, suggesting that their immune systems controlled the growth of the virus‐infected cells. The authors recommend that donors and solid organ recipients in areas endemic for HHV‐8 should be screened for HHV‐8. This report adds another risk to the use of human organs that might be obviated if pig organs could be used successfully.

Test for Early Kidney Rejection*

Scientists at Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany are close to developing a test for early kidney rejection, based on blood levels of soluble CD30, a protein on certain white cells (J Amer Soc Nephrol 2002;13:1650–1656).

Screening of Blood for West Nile Virus*

Roche Diagnostics, of Pleasanton, California, has begun installing a screening system for the West Nile virus at leading North American blood centers that will help blood banks ensure the safety of blood and blood products used in transfusions and other medical procedures. Medical Services International of Edmonton, Canada, has begun discussions with regulatory agencies in Canada for the licensing of its West Nile Rapid test kit. Transmission of West Nile virus from an organ donor to four recipients, one of whom died, was reported in Xenotransplant News previously (2003;10:2–3); the full report has now been published in the N Engl J Med (2003;348:2196–2203).

Human Liver Cell Transplants in Babies in UK*

Three babies have undergone hepatocyte injections, rather than liver transplants, for various conditions, at King's College Hospital in London, and all are said to be doing well.

British Transplantation Society Group (BTS) Advocates Living Donor Kidney Transplant Registry*

Transplants from living donors account for 20% of all UK kidney transplants. The BTS has advocated a registry of people willing to donate (while they are alive) a kidney to a stranger.

Graduate Program on Organ Donation Science*

A graduate program and certificate in organ donation science is to be offered by the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo. For information, contact Jane E. Zbinden, School of Allied Health. Tel.: 419 383 4211.

Left Ventricular Assist System Approved for Destination Therapy in US

Thoratec Corporation has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the Heartmate XVE Left Ventricular Assist System for permanent support of patients with end‐stage heart failure who are not eligible for cardiac transplantation. For information, visit http://www.destination-therapy.com

Bone Marrow Stem Cells Transplanted into Ischemic Myocardium Fail to Differentiate into Cardiomyocytes

At the recent American Transplant Congress in Washington (Am J Transplantation 2003;5:173), the Stanford group of Weissman and colleagues presented data from a mouse model indicating that bone marrow cells can survive in acutely ischemic myocardium for short periods of time. By 10 days, however, the hematopoietic progenitor cells adopted a myeloid phenotype and, by 30 days, few cells remained. These data challenge previous reports indicating that bone marrow cells transplanted into ischemic myocardium differentiate into cardiomyocytes.

Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Morph into Egg Cells or Skin*

The journal Science (2003;300:1251–1256) reports that researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia have successfully coaxed mouse embryonic stem cells into female egg cells, and then stimulated them to become early embryo‐like structures. Scientists at INSERM in Nice, France, have coaxed embryonic stem cells to become skin cells (Current Biology 2003;13:849–853).

Baby Teeth a Rich Source of Stem Cells*

US National Institutes of Health researchers document that the dental pulp of baby teeth is a rich source of stem cells (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2003;100:5807–5812).

Gene Therapy Cures Diabetes in Mice*

Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have used a form of gene therapy, that converts cells in the liver into insulin‐producing cells, to at least temporarily cure mice of diabetes (Nature Medicine 2003;9:596–603).

Embryo Screening For Sick Siblings Approved By UK Court*

The UK Court of Appeals has ruled that parents can screen their test‐tube embryos to ensure the fetal tissue provides a match to help cure a sick sibling. The decision allows parents undergoing in vitro fertilization, who are already having their embryos screened for serious hereditary diseases, to obtain a licence to have the embryos tested to ensure tissue matching with the sibling.