Acute rejection is associated with antibodies to non-Gal antigens in baboons using Gal-knockout pig kidneys.

Chen, Gang; Qian, Hua; Starzl, Thomas; Sun, Hongtao; Garcia, Bertha; Wang, Ximo; Wise, Yishai; Liu, Yuanqing et al. · Nat Med · 2005

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We transplanted kidneys from alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase knockout (GalT-KO) pigs into six baboons using two different immunosuppressive regimens, but most of the baboons died from severe acute humoral xenograft rejection. Circulating induced antibodies to non-Gal antigens were markedly elevated at rejection, which mediated strong complement-dependent cytotoxicity against GalT-KO porcine target cells. These data suggest that antibodies to non-Gal antigens will present an additional barrier to transplantation of organs from GalT-KO pigs to humans.

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