CRISPR technology allowed researchers to eliminate interfering viruses
By Kaitlynn Anderson
Farms.com
Pork producers may be excited to learn that there could be a new market for pigs in the future.
The reason? Transplants.
Researchers at eGenesis, a start-up in Massachusetts, have discovered a way to inactivate 25 viruses in the pig genome. Previously, the threat of viruses had been one of the obstacles that prevented organ transplants to humans from being viable. These retroviruses may induce tumors and immunodeficiencies, according to a 2012 article in Clinical Microbiology Reviews.
Using the CRISPR-Cas9 system, the researchers produced healthy piglets, according to an article in the Scientific American. At the age of four months – the age at which the animal’s organs are large enough to be used for transplants – the pigs were still healthy.
Next, the researchers plan to further modify the animal’s organs so that they can function in the human body.
This modification will involve making the pig tissues compatible with humans, eliminating blood-clot issues and carrying out some changes to the immune system, according to George Church, co-founder of eGenesis and Harvard Medical School geneticist.