Transplant Surgeons can Xenograft Kidneys from untreated Pigs without Rejection

Abstract

The histocompatibility system exists for defence against viruses. It is responsible for the rejection of allograft. The immune system attempts to counter the explosive speed of viral replication by directing the defensive immune attack by cytotoxic T cells on to histocompatibility antigens on the infected cell’s surface. This enables destruction of the virus factories before the cytotoxic T cells are swamped by the myriad numbers of new virions, a thousand coming from each infected cell every 10 hours. The histocompatibility system mistakes alloantigen on grafts for virus-infected host cells that need swift destruction. For surgical transplantation, Henry Kaplan discovered that immune ablation of the recipient followed by inoculation with donor bone marrow prevents rejection of allogeneic grafts. Sykes has improved Kaplan’s technique by adding recipient bone marrow cells to the donor ones injected for reconstitution of the recipient after immune ablation. Kaplan’s technique, used on untreated pigs, should be the standard procedure for transplantation.