Meiji University venture Pol Med Tech and eGenesis, an American biotechnology company that develops organs and cells that can be transplanted into humans, are the first in Japan to produce genetically modified cloned pigs for xenotransplantation. succeeded in. The three pigs were born on February 3th and will be supplied to medical institutions in Japan for preclinical research.
The shortage of donated organs for organ transplant medical care is an urgent global issue. In recent years in Japan, only about 3% of people who request an organ transplant actually receive one. One of the reasons is the extreme shortage of organ donors (less than 1/60 of the United States and 1/9 of South Korea). Therefore, expectations for the clinical application of xenogeneic organ transplantation are increasing in Japan as well.
This time, Pol Med Tech has succeeded in reproducing the genetically modified pigs developed by EGenesis in Japan. In September 2023, Pol Med Tech imported genetically modified pig cells from EGenesis and created cloned piglets using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology developed at Meiji University International Institute for Bioresource Research.
The realization of xenotransplantation had been long awaited in Japan, but it remained at the basic research stage because pigs capable of clinical application were still under development. In addition to manipulating 10 genes related to immune rejection, EGenesis has developed the world's first pig in which all genes of an endogenous pig retrovirus have been inactivated. Last year, researchers published in the journal Nature that monkeys that received pig kidneys survived for more than two years.
With the creation of cloned genetically modified pigs with such a proven track record in Japan, it is expected that efforts to realize clinical applications in Japan will accelerate in the future.
