Although much of the promise of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing techniques has centered around correcting disease-causing gene mutations, the advance is also showing potential in the field of xenotransplantation, for example, for making porcine organs safe for transplantation into humans. In an important step in this direction, a team led by researchers at the biotechnology company eGenesis recently edited the pig genome to deactivate a family of retroviruses. Organs from pigs, which can grow to a convenient human size, could help alleviate the growing organ shortage if scientists continue to make strides in addressing their immunological incompatibility; however, the pig genome includes remnants of ancient viral infections called porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs), which can be passed on to other cells when cultured together. In contrast to human endogenous retroviruses, which are mostly defective and not replication competent, PERVs that are integrated in the pig genome can be released as particles that infect human cells. As reported with other retroviruses, PERV integration could potentially lead to …

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基因编辑可以帮助猪到人的移植铺平道路

尽管CRISPR-Cas9基因编辑技术的许多希望都集中在纠正引起疾病的基因突变上，但这一进展也显示出了异种移植领域的潜力，例如，使猪器官可以安全地移植到人体内。在朝这个方向迈出的重要一步中，由生物技术公司eGenesis的研究人员领导的团队最近编辑了猪基因组，以使逆转录病毒家族失活。如果科学家在解决其免疫学不相容性方面继续取得长足进步，则可以长到人类大小的猪器官可以帮助减轻日益严重的器官短缺。但是，猪的基因组包含了古代病毒感染的残留物，即猪内源性逆转录病毒（PERV），当一起培养时，它们可以传给其他细胞。与大多数缺陷且不具有复制能力的人内源性逆转录病毒相反，整合在猪基因组中的PERV可以作为感染人细胞的颗粒释放。据其他逆转录病毒报道，PERV整合可能导致……