Selected Grantee Publications
- Clear All
- 2 results found
- Nonhuman Primate Models
- Cardiovascular
- 2025
Small-Diameter Artery Grafts Engineered from Pluripotent Stem Cells Maintain 100% Patency in an Allogeneic Rhesus Macaque Model
Zhang et al., Cell Reports Medicine. 2025.
https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(25)00075-8
Globally, the leading cause of death is occlusive arterial disease, but surgical revascularization improves patient prognosis and reduces mortality. Vascular grafts often are needed in coronary bypass surgery for surgical revascularization. However, the clinically approved option for small-diameter revascularization is autologous vascular grafts, which require invasive harvesting methods, and many patients lack suitable vessels. Researchers developed a novel method for graft development using arterial endothelial cells (AECs), derived from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), on expanded polytetrafluoroethylene using specific adhesion molecules. This study used a 6- to 13-year-old male rhesus macaque arterial interposition grafting model. The major histocompatibility complex mismatched wild-type (MHC-WT) AEC grafts were successful when implanted in rhesus macaques and attracted host cells to the engraftment, leading to 100% patency for 6 months. The results highlight a novel strategy for generating artery grafts from PSC-derived MHC-WT AECs that overcomes current challenges in graft development and may have future clinical applications. Supported by ORIP (P51OD011106, S10OD023526), NCI, and NHLBI.
Early Results of an Infant Model of Orthotopic Cardiac Xenotransplantation
Mitchell et al., Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 2025.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39778609
This study evaluated the potential of genetically engineered pig hearts for human pediatric heart failure patients, with 11 infantile pig heart transplants performed in size-matched infant baboons (Papio anubis) (sex not specified). All grafts supported normal cardiac functions post-operatively, and six animals survived beyond 3 months. While early cardiac function was not a limiting factor for survival, systemic inflammation led to pulmonary edema and pleural effusions, which impeded long-term outcomes. These findings highlight the feasibility of cardiac xenotransplantation in infants and underscore the need for targeted therapies to manage inflammation and improve survival. Supported by ORIP (P40OD024628) and NHLBI.