Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation

Pig islet xenotransplantation in nonhuman primates (NHPs) has made considerable progress during the past 30 years, and European scientists in both Europe and the USA have contributed to this progress. At times, there have been, or are, active research programs in Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the US...

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Main Authors: Rita Bottino, Krish Vasudev, Zuzanna Iwanczyk, Emanuele Cozzi, David K. C. Cooper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Transplant International
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Online Access:https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2025.14143/full
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author Rita Bottino
Krish Vasudev
Zuzanna Iwanczyk
Emanuele Cozzi
David K. C. Cooper
author_facet Rita Bottino
Krish Vasudev
Zuzanna Iwanczyk
Emanuele Cozzi
David K. C. Cooper
author_sort Rita Bottino
collection DOAJ
description Pig islet xenotransplantation in nonhuman primates (NHPs) has made considerable progress during the past 30 years, and European scientists in both Europe and the USA have contributed to this progress. At times, there have been, or are, active research programs in Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the USA. The first clinical experiments of wild-type (i.e., genetically-unmodified) pig islet xenotransplantation were carried out by Groth and his colleagues in Stockholm in 1994, but without significant success. Hering’s group in Minneapolis was the first to report prolonged survival of wild-type pig islets in NHPs in 2006, and the first report of insulin-independence for >12 months was by a “European” research team at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. Recent progress has been slow, in part through a lack of funding, but recent advances in pig organ xenotransplantation suggest that pig islet xenotransplantation is poised for clinical experiments in the near future. In addition, there have been encouraging experimental studies of pig neural cell injections into the brains of monkeys with a pharmacologically-induced Parkinson’s disease.
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spelling doaj-art-04b892c00ef64753a2517dd91c0121bc2025-08-20T02:13:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Transplant International1432-22772025-04-013810.3389/ti.2025.1414314143Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell XenotransplantationRita Bottino0Krish Vasudev1Zuzanna Iwanczyk2Emanuele Cozzi3David K. C. Cooper4Imagine Islet Center, Imagine Pharma, Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesDepartment of Surgery, Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Surgery, Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesTransplantation Immunology Unit, University of Padua Hospital, Padua, ItalyDepartment of Surgery, Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United StatesPig islet xenotransplantation in nonhuman primates (NHPs) has made considerable progress during the past 30 years, and European scientists in both Europe and the USA have contributed to this progress. At times, there have been, or are, active research programs in Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the USA. The first clinical experiments of wild-type (i.e., genetically-unmodified) pig islet xenotransplantation were carried out by Groth and his colleagues in Stockholm in 1994, but without significant success. Hering’s group in Minneapolis was the first to report prolonged survival of wild-type pig islets in NHPs in 2006, and the first report of insulin-independence for >12 months was by a “European” research team at the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. Recent progress has been slow, in part through a lack of funding, but recent advances in pig organ xenotransplantation suggest that pig islet xenotransplantation is poised for clinical experiments in the near future. In addition, there have been encouraging experimental studies of pig neural cell injections into the brains of monkeys with a pharmacologically-induced Parkinson’s disease.https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2025.14143/fullEuropeansgenetic engineeringpancreatic isletspigUSAxenotransplantation
spellingShingle Rita Bottino
Krish Vasudev
Zuzanna Iwanczyk
Emanuele Cozzi
David K. C. Cooper
Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
Transplant International
Europeans
genetic engineering
pancreatic islets
pig
USA
xenotransplantation
title Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
title_full Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
title_fullStr Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
title_full_unstemmed Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
title_short Contributions of Europeans to Xenotransplantation Research: 2. Pig Islet and Cell Xenotransplantation
title_sort contributions of europeans to xenotransplantation research 2 pig islet and cell xenotransplantation
topic Europeans
genetic engineering
pancreatic islets
pig
USA
xenotransplantation
url https://www.frontierspartnerships.org/articles/10.3389/ti.2025.14143/full
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AT krishvasudev contributionsofeuropeanstoxenotransplantationresearch2pigisletandcellxenotransplantation
AT zuzannaiwanczyk contributionsofeuropeanstoxenotransplantationresearch2pigisletandcellxenotransplantation
AT emanuelecozzi contributionsofeuropeanstoxenotransplantationresearch2pigisletandcellxenotransplantation
AT davidkccooper contributionsofeuropeanstoxenotransplantationresearch2pigisletandcellxenotransplantation