In a revolutionary breakthrough that promises to redefine the limits of medicineof transplants, a monkey of the Macaca fascicularis species managed to survive more than two years after receiving a genetically modified pig kidney.
The study published last Wednesday (11), in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, is the result of a unprecedented collaboration between the biotechnology company eGenesis and renowned researchers from the School of Medicine of Harvard.
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The experiment used CRISPR technology, a sophisticated gene editing technique, to adapt organs from miniature Yucatan pigs, making them compatible with the primate's immune system receiver.
This achievement is a monumental leap in the search for solutions to the shortage of organs available for human transplants.
Pigs were chosen because their kidneys reach a size comparable to those of humans in adulthood.
However, for this specific study, the transplants were performed with substantially smaller organs suitable for the recipient monkeys.
The experiment involved sophisticated genetic modifications in pigs, with the main objective of preventing rejection of transplanted organs and eliminate possible swine viruses, increasing the safety of the procedure.
In total, 21 monkeys participated in this innovative scientific trial, receiving modified kidneys.
The research marks a critical step for the future of interspecies transplants, especially considering the chronic shortage of human donors.
(Image: disclosure)
Scientists have managed to substantially extend the survival of monkeys that received kidneys from genetically edited pigs.
While normally primates survived about 24 days with kidneys modified to deactivate genes responsible for rejection, immunologically, this expectation increased sevenfold, reaching approximately 176 days, when seven human genes were added.
These genes are key to reducing blood clotting, inflammation and other adverse immune reactions.
Remarkably, one of the monkeys benefiting from the transplant and subsequent immunosuppressive treatment survived two years of life. survival (758 days), a result that Michael Curtis, executive director of eGenesis, described as a “landmark extraordinary".
Speaking to The Guardian, Curtis emphasized that such results are a beacon of hope and could represent a future in which individuals in need of life-saving transplants are able to receive safe, compatible organs from animal sources, saving countless lives.
