Nature Reviews Nephrology - Long-term results of pig-to-human decedent thymokidney xenotransplantation

Nature’s round-up of innovations that are poised to make a splash in the year ahead.

One year ago, Tim Andrews was among the world’s first recipients of a genetically modified pig kidney. Now, he is the first in that small group of pioneers to go on to receive a human kidney.

Here, we present a protocol for the small-molecule-driven derivation of dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons from neural progenitor cells (NPCs) differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells and for stereotactic xenotransplantation of NPCs into the mouse forebrain. We also describe steps for perfusion of xenografted mice and microdissection of grafts for single-nucleus RNA sequencing analysis. This protocol can be used for various assays, including drug screening and toxicity assays, or...

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Nature’s round-up of innovations that are poised to make a splash in the year ahead.

One year ago, Tim Andrews was among the world’s first recipients of a genetically modified pig kidney. Now, he is the first in that small group of pioneers to go on to receive a human kidney.

Kidney xenotransplantation and sample collection An EGEN-2784 gene-edited pig kidney was transplanted into a 62-year-old male patient with end-stage kidney disease, recently described in ref. 5. A Yucatan miniature pig was genetically engineered with 69 genomic modifications. These included the deletion of three major glycan antigens, the inactivation of porcine endogenous retroviruses and the insertion of seven human transgenes (TNFAIP3, HMOX1, CD47, CD46, CD55, THBD and EPCR). The immunosuppressive protocol included antithymocyte globulin (ATG, 1.5 mg kg−1 on days −2 and −1), rituximab (anti-CD20, 1,000 mg on day −3), Fc-modified anti-CD154 monoclonal antibody (tegoprubart, 20 mg kg−1 on days −3, −2, −1, 1, 3, 7