Cytotoxic Effects during Knock Out of Multiple Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus (PERV) Sequences in the Pig Genome by Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFN).

ABSTRACT: Xenotransplantation has been proposed as a solution to the shortage of suitable human donors for transplantation and pigs are currently favoured as donor animals. However, xenotransplantation may be associated with the transmission of zoonotic microorganisms. Whereas most porcine microorganisms representing a risk for the human recipient may be eliminated by designated pathogen free breeding, multiple copies of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are integrated in the genome of all pigs and cannot be eliminated this way. PERVs are released as infectious particles and infect human cells. The zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology allows knocking out specifically cellular genes, however it was not yet used to eliminate multiple integrated proviral sequences with a strong conservation in t

SUBMITTER: Semaan M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4409370 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature