Abstract
The replication of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) in human cell lines suggests a potential infectious risk in xenotransplantation. PERV isolated from human cells following cocultivation with porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells is a recombinant of PERV-A and PERV-C. We describe two different recombinant PERV-AC sequences in the cellular DNA of some transmitting miniature swine. This is the first evidence of PERV-AC recombinant virus in porcine genomic DNA that may have resulted from autoinfection following exogenous viral recombination. Infectious risk in xenotransplantation will be defined by the activity of PERV loci in vivo.
Highlights
Xenotransplantation using inbred miniature swine is a proposed solution to the shortage of organs available for transplantation
Using VRBF and TMR Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers, porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV)-AC recombinant virus was detected in the cellular DNA isolated from all four transmitting animals, 13910, 15149, 13653, and 15150 (Fig. 1)
peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were available for testing in animals 16181 and 12190. These studies demonstrate the presence of recombinant PERV-AC in the DNA of four different transmitting swine
Summary
Xenotransplantation using inbred miniature swine is a proposed solution to the shortage of organs available for transplantation. Three subgroups of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERV) have been identified, PERV-A, -B, and -C. PERV-A and PERV-B have been shown to replicate in human cells in vitro, while PERV-C is largely restricted to porcine cells [1,2,3,4,5]. Infection of human subjects has not been identified in individuals with exposure to porcine tissue [3,6-9], though concern about the risk of cross-species infection in xenotransplantation still exists. Following cocultivation of "transmitting" porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with human cell lines, PERVAC recombinants have been identified within human cells in vitro [2,4,5]. PERV-AC recombinant provirus has not been detected previously in the genomes of transmitting swine [5,10]
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