Game changer for organ transplant? Novel technology revives cell activity in dead pigs

While it sounds like something worthy of Dr. Frankenstein or a summer blockbuster called Zombie Pig, U.S. researchers have found a way to restore cell and metabolic activity in pigs starting an hour after death. The technology, OrganEx, builds on BrainEx an experimental technology developed by the same researchers which can restore circulation in the brain after death. In studies, BrainEx has been able to restore some degree of metabolic activity within the cells of whole pig brains after up to six hours of oxygen deprivation. The aim of the research is to help preserve organs for transplant. Read: New products: Latest drug releases for June/July In a paper published in Nature, Yale University researchers reported that “After one hour of warm ischaemia, OrganEx application preserved tissue integrity, decreased cell death and restored selected molecular and cellular processes across multiple vital organs.” Warm ischemia generally describes ischemia of cells and tissues under normal temperature conditions. In the transplant world, the term is used to describe two physiologically distinct periods of ischaemia: ischemia during implantation (from removal of an organ from ice until reperfusion), as well as ischemia during organ retrieval. OrganEx technology consists of a perfusion system and synthetic perfusate. The purfusate consisted of several compounds (including Hemopure) to help protect cells and prevent blood clots. The perfusion system used a computer-controlled approach that included a perfusion pump, an oxygenator and a hemodialysis unit. To test OrganEx, researchers induced cardiac arrest in anesthetized pigs that had been given heparin. After cardiac arrest and systemic circulation stopped, warm ischemic damage was allowed to ensue for one hour. The dead pigs had a core temperature of 36° to 37° C. Read: Off-the-shelf continuous glucose monitors may help diabetic-hemodialysis patients Five groups of dead pigs were studied. Three were control groups that did not undergo perfusion, but underwent investigation of cellular injury at different defined times. The two sets of pigs underwent perfusion—one using OrganEx, while the other underwent perfusion using an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system (ECMO—a standard heart-and-lung substitution perfusion device). Using imaging technologies, researchers examined whether whole-body circulation was restored, but ECMO did not achieve this. However, there was “robust whole-body perfusion in the OrganEx group,” the study said. The technology also delivered "adequate" levels of oxygen to the whole body during perfusion. Post mortem rigidity was observed in the ECMO pigs but not in the OrganEx perfusion pigs. Tissue samples from the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and pancreas were studied. Those from the OrganEx pigs showed less damage than sample from the ECMO pigs. “This application of the OrganEx technology demonstrates that cellular demise can be halted, and their state can be shifted towards recovery at molecular and cellular levels, even after prolonged warm ischaemia,” the study said. The researchers added “Although our studies demonstrate important cellular protection and repair processes in vital organs across meaningful time points, questions remain concerning organ recovery over an extended timeframe.” In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Robert Porte a transplant surgeon at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands stated “This comprehensive and well-designed study has the potential to lead to new treatment strategies for people who have a heart attack or stroke. One could imagine that the OrganEx system (or components thereof) might be used to treat such people in an emergency. Of note, though, more research will first be needed to confirm the safety of the system’s components in specific clinical situations.” He added that the main benefit “might be for certain types of organ donation.” Read: A link established between acne and omega-3s

Game changer for organ transplant? Novel technology revives cell activity in dead pigs

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