It seems that the genetically modified pork liver planted in a comfortable patient in the brain works successfully inside the body for 10 days, according to scientists who conducted the pioneering procedure.
Surgery is believed, at a Chinese hospital last year, the first time that the pork liver is implanted into a person. It raises the possibility that the pig’s liver is like a “dam member” for patients in the waiting list for a transplant or to support liver function while renewing their organs.
“This is the first time that we tried to reveal whether the pork liver could work well in the human body and … whether it could replace the original human liver in the future. It is our dreams to achieve this achievement,” said Professor Lynn Wang, who led the experiment at Chiking Hospital in Xi.
Progress is the latest in a series of transplants that include pig members since 2022. Surgeons in the United States and China have planted pork heartsand Kidneys and Thyroid In a small number of patients. Many of them died within months, although their severe disease initially means that it is unclear whether the transplants are a worker. But others recovered well and left the hospital.
Another 50 -year -old procedure was performed with brain death after a severe head injury. The patient’s liver was intact, and in a surgical operation that lasted more than 10 hours, the organ taken from a genetically modified Bamb Bama pig in his blood supply was closed as an additional liver.
The pig had six genetic adjustments aimed at preventing immunity refusal. These genes included the abolition of genes that contribute to the production of sugars on the surface of swine cells, which are attacked by the human immune system, and the introduction of genes that express the human proteins of “humanity” of the liver.
After the transplant, the pork liver showed signs of work, including the production of bile, which helps to break the fat in the digestive system, and the pig albums, which is a blood protein.
“There was good evidence of compatibility, which is really exciting,” said Peter Friend, a professor of transplant at Oxford University. “Usually if you put a member of the pigs, the stone will be dead in a few minutes because you get severe rejection.”
The team is behind the progress, Described in the Journal of NatureHe said that it was not clear whether the liver was able to support the patient completely, given that he had an existing liver and because the liver was removed after 10 days at the request of his family. “We could not know if the pork liver could support the patient with severe liver failure,” said Wang.
Even if the pig’s liver is only partially replacing liver function, it may still be valuable as a “dam” dose. A friend said that the “elegant plumbing” that the team uses means that this may be a relatively direct procedure.
He said: “They are mainly the hibble of the liver to … the main artery that extends from the leg toward the heart.” “This makes it safer and less vulnerable to complications and something that can be removed when it is not needed.”
“This is a big leap forward in this field. With the liver, you do not have to keep it for the rest of your life,” said Professor Mohamed Mawnhdin, Director of the Heart Drain Program at Maryland University.
“You can use it as a bridge until the human liver is available for planting or it can be used as partial support until the liver is renewed. I think a firm belief that this can succeed.”