Virus safety of islet cell transplantation from transgenic pigs to marmosets

• Neonatal islet like cell clusters (ICCs) from wild-type and transgenic pigs were transplanted into marmosets.
• Transgenic pigs expressed INSLEA29Y to reduce rejection of the transplant in a human setting.
• PERV-A, PERV-B and PERV-C were found in all donor pigs.
• Porcine CMV was found in some pigs.
• No transmission of PERV or PCMV into recipients was observed.

Transplantation of pig islet cells for the treatment of diabetes may be a more effective approach compared with the application of insulin. However, before introduction into the clinic, efficacy and safety of this treatment have to be shown. Non-human primate models may be used for this, despite the fact that they are characterised by several limitations. Here we investigate the prevalence of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs), which are present in the genome of all pigs and which may infect human cells, as well as of porcine herpes viruses in donor pigs and their potential transmission to non-human primate recipients. Despite the fact that all three subtypes of PERV were present in all and porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) was found in some of the pigs, neither PERVs nor PCMV were found in the recipient animals under the experimental conditions applied. Porcine lymphotropic herpes viruses (PLHV) were not found in the donor pigs, hepatitis E virus (HEV) was not found in the recipients.