Doktor dan saintis Sekolah Perubatan Universiti Maryland telah berjaya memindahkan jantung babi kejuruteraan genetik (GEP) kepada pesakit dewasa dengan penyakit jantung peringkat akhir. Pembedahan ini merupakan satu-satunya pilihan pesakit yang tinggal untuk terus hidup selepas didapati tidak layak untuk pemindahan tradisional. Pesakit dalam keadaan baik tiga hari selepas prosedur.
This is the first time that a genetically-engineered animal jantung has functioned like a manusia jantung without immediate rejection by the body.
Xenotransplants (i.e., organ transplant from animal to manusia) were first tried in the 1980s, but were largely abandoned due to the immune system’s rejection of the foreign jantung however pig jantung valves have been used successfully for replacing valves in manusia.
In this case, the donor babi had been genetically modified to avoid rejection. A total of ten gene edits were made in the donor pig – three genes responsible for rapid rejection of babi organs by manusia were deleted, six manusia genes responsible for immune acceptance of the pig jantung were inserted in the genome of the donor pig and one additional gene in the pig responsible for excessive growth of the jantung tissue was removed.
This surgery is very significant because this brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis through use of genetically engineered animal donors to avoid immune rejection by the manusia penerima.
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rujukan:
University of Maryland School of Medicine. News – University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Perform Historic First Successful Transplant of Porcine Heart into Adult Manusia with End-Stage Heart Disease. Posted January 10, 2022. Available at https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/news/2022/University-of-Maryland-School-of-Medicine-Faculty-Scientists-and-Clinicians-Perform-Historic-First-Successful-Transplant-of-Porcine-Heart-into-Adult-Human-with-End-Stage-Heart-Disease.html
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