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Emerging pathogens of concern in xenotransplantation

Stacey Busby¹, Colin Sharp², Peter Simmonds², Yasu Takeuchi³, Linda Scobie¹

¹Biological and Biomedical Science, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow; ²Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh; ³Wohl Virion Centre, Univeristy College London, London, United Kingdom

Introduction: Xenotransplantation is an important alternative to allo-transplantation, which is hoped, will solve the donor shortage problem, however, the use of pigs as donors leads to concerns regarding zoonosis. A recently emerging viral pathogen that may be of concern in xenotransplantation (Xtn) is the Porcine Parvovirus type 4 (PPARV-4). Human Parvovirus type 4 was first isolated from an intravenous drug user and has been found to be transmitted via blood transfusion and possibly through allo-transplantation. It primarily co-infects with other viruses and therefore the pathology in humans is unclear, although, it has been clearly documented that parvoviruses cause significant complications in immune-compromised individuals. In addition, parvoviruses have been shown to be adept at crossing the species barrier and, as a porcine equivalent has recently been identified we feel it is necessary to assess the potential risk for Xtn.

Methods: DNA was isolated from blood and tissue samples and PCR primers were designed to assess the prevalence, the distribution and the potential risk for transmission of PPARV-4 from donor herds (n=133).

Results: PPARV-4 DNA was identified in blood from pigs taken from both commercial (n=57), barrier (n=72) and SPF (n=7) herds. Overall, the prevalence of PPARV-4 in these pigs was found to be 79%. PPARV-4 was found to be widely distributed in a number of tissues including kidney, heart and pancreas and like human PARV-4 was found to be consistently detected in the same animal over a period of more than a year.

Conclusion: As PPARV-4 is clearly prevalent and persistent in pigs, to prevent any risk associated with this virus, it is recommended that monitoring for and elimination of this virus from donor herds is carried out before use for Xtn.

This work was supported by the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme contract no. LSHB-CT-2006-037377, XENOME