Xenotransplantation from Genetically Modified Pigs to Humans

In our latest episode, Physiological Reviews Editor-in-Chief Dr. Sadis Matalon (University of Alabama at Birmingham) interviews authors Dr. Leigh Peterson (Executive Vice President for Product Development and Xenotransplantation at United Therapeutics Corporation) and Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub (Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, and Founder and Director of Research at the Harefield Heart Science Centre and Aswan Heart Centre). The authors have published a comprehensive review on xenotransplantation. Listen as they discuss the steps necessary to immunologically modify pigs to avoid acute rejection and minimize chronic rejection, as well as the main differences between the GalSafe and the 10GE pigs described in the article. Given that the American Physiological Society launched their Women’s Health Research Initiative in spring 2024, we discuss how xenotransplantation and women’s health research are connected. What are the next important developments in this field? Listen to find out more.

 

Leigh Peterson, Magdi Yacoub, David Ayares, Kazuhiko Yamada ,Daniel Eisenson, Bartley P. Griffith, Muhammad Mohiuddin, Will Eyestone, J. Craig Venter, Ryszard T. Smolenski, and Martine Rothblatt Physiological Basis for Xenotransplantation from Genetically-Modified Pigs to Humans: A Review Physiological Reviews, published June 7, 2024. DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00041.2023