细胞技术

Xenotransplantation is a potential solution for the worldwide persisting donor organ shortage. However, immunological and physiological barriers need to be overcome before the first clinical trials can be started. Nonhuman primates are considered the most suitable recipien ...

Study of lung xenografts has proven useful to understand the remaining barriers to successful transplantation of other organ xenografts. In this chapter, the history and current status of lung xenotransplantation are briefly reviewed and two different experimental models, the ex v ...

With the advent of knockout pigs for α1,3-galactosyltransferease (GalT-KO, which lack a cell-surface antigen to which humans have preformed antibodies), investigators have extended the survival of life-supporting xenorenal grafts. However, despite these increases, nonhum ...

This chapter deals with a technique for isolating intact islets of Langerhans from the pig pancreas based on our experience performing approximately 750 isolations. The procedure we describe involves identification of an optimal donor pancreas, purification and in vitro culture of i ...

Intracerebral cell transplantation offers the possibility of replacing lost neurons in case of neurodegenerative disorders. To date, the best functional recovery for Parkinson’s patients has been obtained using neuroblasts derived from human foetal mesencephalon, but the et ...

Xenotransplantation of hepatocytes is a future promise to treat liver diseases when there is a formal indication for transplantation. In this chapter, we describe techniques for hepatocyte xenotransplantation. The process was divided into three main steps: hepatocyte isolatio ...

Porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) is considered the major biosafety issue in xenotransplantation. Several techniques have been employed for the analysis of the PERV status in the animal donor and for the assessment of PERV transmission/infection in the xenograft recipient. In th ...

Articular cartilage lesions, which do not affect the integrity of subchondral bone, are not able to be repaired spontaneously, thus inducing cartilage degeneration and developing an arthrosic process. To avoid the need for prosthetic replacement, different cell treatments were de ...

Clinical trials in xenotransplantation (XTx) that have just started to fulfil a long delayed promise should certainly be performed under the same guarantees for the subjects involved as any other experimentation in human medicine. The most important is the absolute respect for their fun ...

Xenotransplantation has changed its focus from solid organs to cells and tissues, and it is now mainly conceived of and regulated as a pharmaceutical product. Animal cell therapies are showing promising results and may involve fewer risks than organs. However, countries should be cautious ...

Xenotransplantation, the transplantation of cells, tissues, or organs between different species, has the potential to overcome the current shortage of human organs and tissues for transplantation. In the last decade, the progress made in the field is remarkable, suggesting that clin ...

Understanding the molecular bases of xenograft rejection is one of the highest priorities in the xenotransplantation field. Furthermore, the identification of physiological incompatibilities in the xenogeneic setting is also necessary for developing the appropriate str ...

Based on the results from different studies, it is recommended to use multiple assays to fully monitor a peripheral antibody response in recipients of pig xenografts. In particular, the complement-dependent hemolytic assay (CH50) determines total endogenous complement activity; ...

Naturally occurring and elicited anti-carbohydrate antibodies play a major role in immune responses to xenografts. The original obstacles associated with the Gal antigen have been largely resolved by the generation of knockout pigs. In contrast, much less is known about the nature and ro ...

Proteins are the focus of numerous xenotransplantation studies because they provide structure and function to the graft. Their presence, absence, or even a functional incompatibility among species can compromise the long-term functioning of the xenograft. In particular, many cel ...

Microvascular thrombosis, following the activation of clotting cascade, is a hallmark of porcine solid organ xenograft rejection. The analysis of differences between human, monkey, and pig coagulation systems is crucial when monkey is used as animal model and pig as organ donor in xenotr ...

Cellular studies are essential in the xenotransplantation field in order to investigate the cellular immune responses triggered by xenogeneic cells and identify the key molecules involved. A series of functional studies can be conducted with this purpose that include treatment wi ...

Xenotransplantation is one alternative to transplantation of human organs which has been investigated. It is generally accepted that the pig represents the most logical choice of animals to serve as organ donors for xenotransplantation. Moreover, the implementation of cloning by s ...

Organ transplantation has become a successful and acceptable treatment for end-stage organ failure. Such success has allowed transplant patients to resume a normal lifestyle. The demands for transplantation have been steadily increasing, as more patients and new diseases are being ...

An efficient cellular drug delivery is a severe problem due to the charge, the hydrophilic character or the size of many therapeutic agents. High-drug doses, necessary to compensate the reduced bioavailability, often cause strong adverse effects. Synthetic drug delivery vectors will s ...