A HUMAN CD46 TRANSGENIC PIG MODEL SYSTEM FOR THE STUDY OF DISCORDANT XENOTRANSPLANTATION
Background. The chronic shortage in the supply of
human organs available for allotransplantation has
turned attention toward the use of animals as potential
donors, with pigs as the most likely species under
consideration. Hyperacute rejection, the initial and
immediate barrier to a pig-to-primate xenograft, has
been addressed by generation of transgenic pigs that
express the human membrane-bound complementregulatory
proteins CD59 and/or CD55. Difficulty has
been encountered in generation of transgenic animals
that express a third membrane-bound complementregulatory
protein, CD46.
Methods. We have generated transgenic animals by
using a large genomic construct that encompasses the
entire human CD46 gene.
Results. We report the first description of transgenic